British statesman Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) helping to lay tiles on the roof of a new cottage at his Chartwell estate in Kent, 25th February 1939. Original publication: Picture Post – 90 – Churchill – pub. 1939 (Photo by Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
As Prime Minister, Sir Winston S. Churchill became the embodiment of British fighting spirit and led his nation to victory.
Born in Oxfordshire 1874, Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was an aristocrat-turned-public servant. Before his political life he had a dramatic career as a soldier and journalist.
Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) at the controls of an aeroplane, circa 1950. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
By his 20s, he’d travelled the world and seen the heat of battle. During the Second Boer War (1899 – 1902) he was captured and famously fled the enemy through a bathroom window.
In 1900 he was back in “Blighty” as a Conservative MP. 1904 saw him join the Liberals. Yet it wasn’t long before war defined his life again.
He took up the post of First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911. Following the outbreak of World War I (1914 – 18) he spearheaded a move against the Turkish army.
British former Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) (in white hat) and US President Dwight Eisenhower (1890 – 1965) (in white shirt) sit on a helicopter, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania May 6, 1959. The men had been visiting the Presidents home and were due to return to Washington. (Photo by Abbie Rowe/PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
His idea of invading the Gallipoli Peninsula (1915) was disastrous. Many months and multiple casualties later and Churchill was no longer First Lord.
Success arrived when Britain reached its darkest hour. The Second World War (1939 – 45) began with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain attempting to appease the rise of the Nazis.
Hitler’s march into Poland meant drastic action needed to be taken, and Churchill was the person to do it. He was elected PM in 1940.
Officer of the Hussars and future British Prime Minister Winston Churchill posing in the saddle of his horse. India, 1896 (Photo by Mondadori via Getty Images)
With his distinctive presence, Churchill symbolized the war effort. He’d warned the establishment about Hitler and now took the lead in defeating the fascist menace. It didn’t help him at the ballot box. No sooner had the war ended than Churchill was out.
He re-entered 10 Downing St 6 years later, when the Cold War was underway, though this was a challenge even he couldn’t manage.
Churchill stood down in 1955 and left Parliament in 1964. He died the following year. Some see him as a hero who saved his country.
Others think him a controversial figure mired in racism. Some believe him to be both. Whatever he was, Churchill’s mark on history is assured.
Winston Churchill sitting at his easel painting and smoking a cigar. (Photo by Frank Scherschel/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)
Officer of the Hussars and future British Prime Minister Winston Churchill posing in the saddle of his horse. India, 1896 (Photo by Mondadori via Getty Images)
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) and his wife Clementine (1885 – 1977) in London during the 1924 election campaign. He was later elected Conservative MP for Epping. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 – 1945, left) with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) at the White House, Washington DC, December 1941. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Winston Churchill pacing and smoking a cigar in a uniform topcoat and hat during his visit to the front. (Photo by George Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)
Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British politician and First Lord of the Admiralty, standing by a mirror reading a document in the study of his country home, Chartwell Manor, in Westerham, Kent, England, United Kingdom, in October 1939. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The Royal Navy During The Second World War, The Prime Minister Winston Churchill on board HMS PRINCE OF WALES during his journey to America to meet with President Roosevelt. The quadruple 14 inch guns of Y turret can be seen in the background, August 1941. (Photo by Capt. Horton/ Imperial War Museums via Getty Images)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd President of the USA (right) and Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British Prime Minister, meeting in Quebec in 1944. Churchill is smoking one of his trademark cigars. Churchill and Roosevelt had frequent summit meetings during the war to discuss strategy, usually at Churchill’s instigation. After the successful D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944, the two leaders met in Quebec to agree their policy on the treatment of Germany after the war. (Colorised black and white print). (Photo by Print Collector/Getty Images)
March 1946: US Pres. Harry S. Truman (stage, L) listening to British PM Winston Churchill make a speech regarding the Communist threat which became famous as the Iron Curtain speech. (Photo by George Skadding/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill meeting with General Bernard Law Montgomery at the British Headquarters. Blay, 21st July 1944 (Photo by Mondadori via Getty Images)
Winston Churchill During The Second World War In Italy, The Prime Minister Winston Churchill watches an assault against enemy positions north of Florence, Italy, through a telescope from the observation post of a battery of the 66 Lowland Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery, on 20 August 1944. (Photo by Capt. Tanner/ Imperial War Museums via Getty Images)
UNITED KINGDOM – JANUARY 01: London, Sir Winston Churchill With His Pet Poodle. 1953 (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
Winston Churchill During The Second World War In The United Kingdom, The Prime Minister Winston Churchill inspects bomb damage caused by Luftwaffe night raids in Ramsgate, Kent, England on 28 August 1940. (Photo by Capt. Horton/ Imperial War Museums via Getty Images)
16th April 1939: British statesman Winston Churchill (right), recently appointed Hon Air Commodore to 615 Auxiliary Air Force Squadron, climbing out of a Gloster Gauntlet II aircraft during a visit to the Squadron at Kenley, Surrey. (Photo by Arthur Tanner/Fox Photos/Getty Images)
Winston Churchill At Loreto Aerodrome In Italy, 25 August 1944, The Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston Churchill, MP, inspecting the ranks of the 4th Queen’s Own Hussars, the regiment with which he served before entering politics. At the time of his visit the Prime Minister was Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment. He is accompanied by the Commander of the Regiment, Lieutenant R C Kidd. General Sir Harold Alexander, the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean, is partially visible in the background, 25 August 1944. (Photo by Capt. Tanner/ Imperial War Museums via Getty Images)
1942: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill watching soldiers on an assault course at GHQ Battle School at Northern Command at Barnard Castle. (Photo by A. A. Englander/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) gives a ‘V for Victory’ sign as he and US President Harry S. Truman (1884 – 1972) wave from the back of the President’s train in Union Station, Washington DC, March 4, 1946. White House Aide General Harry H. Vaughan (1893 – 1981) stands between them. (Photo by Abbie Rowe/PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
Winston Churchill In Berlin, July 1945, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, accompanied by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery and Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, inspects tanks of the ‘Desert Rats’ from a half-track vehicle which moved slowly along the long line of troops and armour, during the British Victory parade in Berlin, 21 July 1945. (Photo by Capt. W T Lockeyear/ Imperial War Museums via Getty Images)
British Prime Minister Churchill stroking a cat named Blackie on the deck of the English battleship HMS Prince of Wales as the ship’s crew, along the crew of the USS McDougall (DD-358) anchored alongside, watch him, England, August 10, 1941. (Photo by Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
