THE LIFE AND TIMES OF WINSTON CHURCHILL
BY
BRYAN
THORPE
RIVERSDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
4B
Churchill, born at Blenheim Palace in
Oxfordshrie. On November 30, 1874. He
was the child of a” prominent Tory politician”[1], Lord Randolph Churhill and the american
heiress Jennie Jerome. He was educated at Harrow school and then became a cadet
at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, passing out in February 1895 as a
second lieutenant in the fourth Queen’s own Hussars. He served as a cavalry
officer in India and the Sudan (where he rode in the cavalry charge at Omdurman
in 1898 under the command of Horatio Herbert Kitchener), but resigned his
commisson in 1899 to become a newspaper correspondent in the South African Wars
(Boer Wars). A daring escape from prison after he had been
captured by the boers made him a
national hero and in 1900 he was elected to parliament as Conservative member
of parliament (mp) for Oldham. In 1904 he went over to the Liberal Party,
having broken with the Conservatives on the issue of free trade. Having found a
new Manchester seat to contest, he became President of the Board of Trade in
the liberal “landslide” of 1906. In 1908 he became President of the Board of Trade
in the Liberal cabinet of Herbert Henry Asquith, where he worked closely with
the radical Chancellor of the Exchequer,
with the german onrush through
neutral belgium in 1914, he led a naval detacthment to antwerp, but failed to
stem the tide. In 1915 he made himself responsible for the campaign to force
the dardanelles, with the aim of pushing turkey out of the war, or linking up
with russia, and of taking the central powers in the rear. The campaign
foundered, partly through bad lack of experience in combined
David Lloyd George, in promoting
social reform. After a brief period as
Home Secratery (1910-1911), during which he persued the same polices, he became
first Lord of the Admilitary (1911-1915). Before World War 1 he had insisted on
maintaining the British navy’s superiority over that of its nearest rival, the
German Navy, against the pressure of the cabinet ecomonizers like Lloyd George for
reductions in the naval estimates.
Churchill’s role in world war 1
was controversial and almost destroyed his career. He was
energetic first lord, but his sponsorship of the ill fated Gallipoli
campaign And the subseqent failure of the Anglo-French fleets to
force the Dardanelles striat led Asquith to
demote him to the powerless office of Chancellor Of the Duchy of Lancaster in May 1915.
deprived of any influence on the war, He
,Resigned
from his post in disgust in november. Following service as a batallion
Commander
on the western front, he was brought
back political life in 1917 by the new Prime Minister, Lloyd George ,who
appionted him Minister of Munitions.after
The war he served in Lloyd George’s
coalition cabinet from 1919 to 1922, as Secretary for War and air and
as Colonial Secretary. The collapse of Lloyd george’s
Government in september 1922,
after a war scare over Turkey in which Churchill Played a
typically bellicose role, left him out of office and out of parliament He lost his seat at the
subseqent general election and was not returned to parliament Until
October 1924, as “constitutionalist” (conservative) mp for Epping. Much to his
surprise the Conservative Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, offered him the post
of Chancellor of the Exchequer, where he demonstrated his new Conservative
credentials .By returning Britian to the gold standard and vigerously
condemning the trade unions during the 1926 general strike.
From 1929, when Baldwin’s government
fell, until 1939, Churchill found himself back in the political wilderness. His
outspoken opposition to the indian nationalist Movement and his support for
Edward VIII during the 1939 abdication crisis alienated Baldwin, who now
regarded Churchill as a political liability, while his subsequent clamour for
rearmament and his attacks on appeasement, particularly in 1938, earned him the
implaceable hostility of Neville Chamberlain, who dominated the 1931-1940
National governments.
Six years later, Churchill towered
above all contem poraries as a statesmen of international renown. He was known
as the champion of freedom and civilisation, and the victorious leader of the
british nation and empire at war. How did this transformation happen?
The change did not begin to happen
until 1940, when the war was
Nine months old. Even his enemies had
recognised that churchill
Would have to be brought into the
government in the event of war –
His military expertise was
universally acknowledged, and his criticisms of chamberlian’s policy of
appeasement had after all proved jusified – and he had been made first lord of
the admilitary. In his capacity he was given charge only of the royal navy, a
position that, after ten years in the political wilderness, he was content to
accept.
When Chamberlain was forced to
declare war on Germany in September 1939. He siad what is our policy.?”I will
say it is to wage by land, sea and air with All the strength that god can give
us . . . victory at all costs.victory in spite Of all terror, victory however
long and hard the road may be.”[2] Churchill
previous warnings about german ambitions were vindicated, and public pressure led Chamberlain to bring him
into the war cabinet as first Lord Of the Admiralty. There he proved to be as
energetic as he had in 1914, but curiously It was his championing of another
disastrous amphibious operation, the anglo-french Expedition to Norway to take
Narvik, which led to Chamberlain’s resignation in 1940 -many Conservatives
blamed the Prime Minister, not the first lord, for the debacle-and to Churchill’s
replacing him on May 10, 1940, in a coalition government with all-party support.
Churchill was undoubtedly an
inspirational wartime leader. His pugnacity and rousing speeches rallied the
nation to continue the fight after the fall of france and the evacuation of Dunkirk.
During the dark days of 1940, through the battle of Britain and The blitz when
britain stood alone against the axis powers, he urged his compatriots To conduct
themselves so that, “if the British Empire and its common wealth last for a
thousand years, men will still say: ‘this was their finest hour.’” He
successfully resisted pressure from inside the war cabinet for a compromise
peace with germany In may 1940 and placed his hopes for eventual victory on the
intervention of the United States in the
war on britain’s side. There was little sign of this during the summer of 1940,
but with the successful outcome of the battle of Britain, president Franklin D.
Roosevelt decided to support britain, not by direct american intervention But
with naval assistance and military lend-lease aid. When Germany invaded the
soviet union in June 1941, Churchill welcomed this new adherent to the allied
cause, this despite his implacable hostility towards the soviet regime in the
1920s. he was Overjoyed when the United
States entered the war in december 1941 after the japanese attack on Pearl Harbour.
Churchill established close ties with Roosevelt and the soviet Leader Joseph Stalin, forming a triumvirate at
the head of what he termed the “grand
alliance”. Travelling ceaseleesly, he laboured to coordinate military strategy
against Adolf Hitler and the axis.
For a time Roosevelt generally
adopted Churchill’s strategic ideas, such as the Prime Minister’s insistence on
the invasion of North Africa in 1942 instead of a cross-channel assault, which the american army chiefs wanted.
However after 1943, as the United States had become immeauserably more
powerful, Churchill was forced increasingly to accept american army-imposed war
plans, despite his vigorous courting of roosevelt by means of frequent
face-to-face meetings in the united states, canada, and North Africa. Churchill’s
warnings after the yalta conference in early 1945 about Stalin’s european
ambitions were ignored-roosevelt wanted to work with stalin for A peace
post-war order. British general elections were held during the potsdam Conference,
the last great “BIG THREE” conference in the summer of 1945, with Churchill
present for part of the time. Given his popularity as wartime leader, he Was
not acpected to be defeated at the election. However, the Labour Party won
by a landslide. British public
opinion was alienated by Churchill’s repugnance For social and economic reform
(he had taken very little interest in domestic Policies during the war), nor
did it wish to return to the slump and unemploment Of the 1930s with the
conservatives were now identifed.
Inevetibly churchill was critical of
the “welfare state” reforms of his succesor, Clement Attlee. He vioced his suspicions
of the Soviet danger in his famous iron Curtian speech in Fulton, Missouri, in
1946. He became Prime Minister again from 1951-1955, but apart from occasional
prophetic warnings about the danger of nuclear
devastation, he was handicapped by age and poor health from accomplishing much,
and it was not an auspicious end to his long political career. After his
resignation in 1955, he devoted his last years to painting and writing. He died
on January 24,1965, at the age of 90. Following a state funeral he was buried
at Bladon, near Blenheim Palace, the one-time home of his ancestor John Churchill,
1st Duke of Marlborough.
Churchill was a prolific historic
writer, although much of his work was dedicated to justifying his past actions
and his place in history. His most famous works are The World Crisis (4
vol.,1923-1929) ,My early life (1930),marlborough (4 vol,1933-1938),the Second
World War (6 vols,1948-1953), and a history of the english- speaking peoples (4
vols., 1956-1958). He received the nobel prize for literature and a knighthood (he refused a Dukedom) in 1953.
Churchill’s death in 1965 marked the
end of an era in British history. Born into an aristocratic family, he
participated in Britian’s transformation from british empire To welfare state
and its decline as a world power, devlopments which he bitterly Regretted. He
is particularly remembered for his courageous stand as Prime Minister in 1940
and 1941, when Britain stood alone against perhaps the most dangerous adversary
it had faced in its long history.
SHORT QUESTIONS
Q1
Bibliography
Keegan, John. Who’s Who in World War
11, Oxford University Press, united states, 1978.
Q2
EXPERIENCES/SKILLS
Studying for this topic, I was
introduced to the skills of research.
1. I have learnt to look thourgh the
local libraries to find suitable books on the topic.
2. I used internet search engines to
find extra information for my essay.
3. I have learnt new skills on Microsoft
Word.
4. I have also learnt to read and
compare many different sources for my essay
Q3
Review
Churchill:a biography by
Roy Jenkins
Synopsis
Roy Jenkin’s “Churchill” is an
exhaustive biographical picture of one of the most enigmatic figures of the 20th century. From
the admiralty to the miner’s strike, from the Battle of Britain to the Nobel
prize, Churchill oversaw some of the most important
Events the world has ever seen. Roy
jenkins presents these events, while also managing to convey the contradictions
and quirks in churchill’s character.
Amazon.co.uk review
Book buyers will never tire of
reading about Winston Churchill, for “ the greatest adventurer of modern
political history”(ra butler’s verdict) led a life of action-packed Drama and
global significance. Roy jenkins’ churchill is the latest bioagraphy of this Great
briton, following closely in the tailwind of geoffrey best’s churchill:a
study in Greatness. Where best restores altitude to churchill’s dipping
reputation, seeing off Academic critics of the last decade or so, jenkins
provides a jumbo-size old-fashioned Biography, lauding his subject’s
achievements, sympathising with his quirks,and stepping lightly over his
well-known mistakes. As he did in his earlier biographies of Dilke, asquith and
gladstone, jenkins sticks closely to the published record, utilised in Particular
the definitive researches of martin gilbert, but he brings the authority and
the inside knowledge of british politics to his book, slipping in his own
memories of
Churchill, and his own comparable
experience sat the cabinet table.it is all here, from The boer wars to the
nuclear bomb, from the hustings in oldham to the diplomacy of Yalta, with due
coverage of the big moments-at the board of trade and the admiralty in
asquith’s peacetime and wartime cabinets, taking on the appeasers in the 1930s
and hitler in the 1940s. all the books are here, and all the political relationships tetchy and
touchy alike, from lloyd george to baldwin, smuts to stalin, and of course, the
british people. Like its subject the book the bulky and at times indulgent, but
impossible not to enjoy
eugeneol
I read this biography following a
review by garret fiztgerald (former pm of ireland), and I was not dissapointed
with his recommendation. Everyone knows that wsc was a true giant of the 20th
century politics and inspired war leader, but roy jenkins’ book geos much
cheaper than this.
The bkook is slightly heavy going in
certain places-in particular, the “wilderness years” Had little appeal to me.
As an avid reader of biographies, I found for most part of balance of personal
detail with historical record. Being irish, I found that much of The early 20th
century material relies on the readers knowledge of british history,which I did
not have.
I found the freqeunt comparisons of
events in wsc’s political life to events of recent Years a great for roy
jenkins to place events in context and to give them a clearer Understanding.
Like many other reviewers, I found
the liberal use by rj of words I’ve never heard of before unnessary and
occasionally irritating. The grammer is first class throughout, Though there is
a duplication of the word “the” at the bottom of page 706 in the hard back
edition (I felt certain triumph on spotting the error). However, readers should
Not be put off by roy jenkin’s seemingly superior vocabulary.
This book is a must for readers of
biographies. It is superb piece of work that Captures all the inspiration and
leadership qualities of a remarkable man.
Q4
When I first started history I was
informed about the essay in class. I was told about The essay and that it was
worth 20% of my leaving cert marks. I was given a week to think about my topic
because it was a tough decision to make but I should have made a better
decision because I think irish history is much more interesting. I checked out
the school library for my bibliography the books I used were interesting. I
chose the books, who’s who in world war two and world war one. I also went on
the internet For information about my topic and found lots of information on
the BBC website. Afterwards I got more info from microsoft incarta. I read the
info from the books that I got from the library and the net which I found interesting
because of its background. As soon as I completed my research I planed out how
I am going to lay my essay. I wrote first draft and adead extra bits from my
books and from the info from the net
And checked all the dates. As soon as
I completed my research, plan ,draft and adead My extra bits I typed it out
using microsoft word, printed it out to check it. Then I made several changes
and corrections to my essay to put the finnishing touch. I printed it out
because I finished my essay and then put it on the school website for others to
read it.