One hundred thirty fifth birth anniversary of Winston Churchill

DownloadNovember 30th marks the 135th birth anniversary of Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill.   

Sir Winston Churchill stands out as a remarkable figure in contemporary history of Britain. A military man, a journalist and a writer, he stayed at the helm of the British government for nearly ten years during the Second World War and in post-war years, served in Cuba, India, Egypt, took part in military operations in Sudan and in the Boer War in South Africa and fought in the First and Second World Wars.  

Churchill’s political career as Conservative Party leader spanned the reign of six monarchs – from Queen Victoria to her grand-grand-granddaughter Elizabeth II. In 1953 Winston Churchill was awarded knighthood and Nobel Prize for Literature and ten years later he became an honorary citizen of the United States. The 2002 survey by the BBC named him Britain’s most remarkable citizen ever, whose effort was crucial in shaping the world the way it is now.  

Invariably wearing a bowler hat, carrying a cane and smoking a cigar, Winston Churchill went down in history as a hard-line politician, innate diplomat and unsurpassed speaker. Few know, however, that he was also a marvelous artist and gardener. His pictures regularly went on display at the Royal Academy of Arts, which organized a private view of his works in 1958. And he earned reputation as one of the wittiest persons of his day, for he could easily joke his way out of any embarrassing situation.  

Winston Churchill never revealed a particular liking for the Soviet Union, not even in the years of joint struggle against Nazi Germany, and was always fiercely opposed to socialism. During the Civil War in Russia he suggested using British troops against the Bolsheviks, which resulted in a cool-down with the then Prime Minister David Lloyd George. In September 1939, after a lull in his political career, Churchill was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty and in May 1940, following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain, he took over as prime minister. In his first address to the House of Commons right after the surrender of France Winston Churchill made it clear that Britain would not compromise with the Nazis. This uncompromising position became his chief credo for which he was prepared to go any lengths, up to a deal with the Soviet leader Josef Stalin.  

In the years of the Second World War Winston Churchill staked on close alliance with the USA, which was enshrined by the Atlantic Charter in August 1941. The alliance was later joined by the Soviet Union. After the war the anti-Hitler coalition quickly went into decline, particularly after Winston Churchill’s “Sinews of Peace” address of March 5th 1946 at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, in which he urged western democracies to unite in the face of growing threat from the Soviet Union and which many historians see as the start of the Cold War. In his speech Churchill called for a fraternal association of English-speaking community against communism and warned of the danger of Soviet totalitarianism. He coined the word “iron curtain”, which later “went down” to separate the East and the West. In same address, however, he voiced Britain’s intention to establish a long-term cooperation with the Soviet Union.  

Winston Churchill quit big politics in 1955, and kept a low profile in the next ten years. But he was never forgotten. His name was given to streets and colleges and a number of monuments in his honor were unveiled in Britain. One of the colleges at Cambridge was named after Churchill. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Churchill in person on October 10th 1959.  

Sir Winston Churchill died in London on January 24th 1965 aged 90. He was honored with a state funeral and was buried in his native Oxfordshire. His death marked the end of an era. The 20th century can rightfully be described as the age of Winston Churchill.