Winston Churchill-Was He Really The Greatest Briton

A BBC poll at the turn of the century asked the British public to name their greatest ever Briton.Winston Churchill headed the list,followed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales.A top three reflected by the variety of voters.

I have one thing in common with Winston Churchill,we share the same birthday,30th of November!From an early age I believed Churchill as prime minister had been the main reason Adolph Hitler was defeated.Thanks to his stirring speeches,close freindships with the US and other Nations, as well as his positive persona that lifted the British nation during World War ll.

Yes, Churchill was a great man we would admire,picture perfect with his cigar and "V" sign as he led us to victory.His familiar quotes are still well used,and the famous London gangster Ronnie Kray would listen to his inspiring speeches for hours on end.

Churchill was the eldest son of the aristocrat Lord Randolph Churchill.He began his political life as a conservative, switching his allegiance many times.He served as the First Lord of the Admiralty during both World Wars.

It was in 1940 that Churchill succeeded Chamberlain as Prime Minister,and from then on Sir Winston,the courageous and stubborn leader of Great Britains war effort was to become remembered as our greatest ever Briton.

Born in to aristocracy, Churchills mother Jenny Churchill (nee Jerome ) was a fairly promiscuous American lady, [1] leading to many historians indicating that Lord Churchill was not his real father backed up by a frail and distant paternal relationship.

There is no concrete evidence that Winston was from Jewish descent , his mothers family changed their name from Jacobson to Jerome leading many theorists to jump to the conclusion he was Jewish.

Churchills father had many contacts amid the Anglo-Jewish society,Baron de Hirsch Lord Rothschild, Sir Ernest Cassel.These wealthy principals were also befriended by the young Churchill, but how much influence did the have on his life? He was certainly a firm supporter of the Jewish cause and the Balfour Declaration.[2]

Winston's involvment in the military began as a second lieutenant in the 4th Hussars, but he soon turned his attention to war correspondece and plied his trade for several publications.There are many indications that Churchill was heped along this career path by genorous allowances from his mother and his fathers wealthy friends.

World War i

Churchill assumed the title of the First Lord of the Admiralty during World War One.It was the disastrous Gallopoli battle against the Turkish forces that had a led Churchill to back-pedal and resign from his post. It was a totally hopless campaign from the start, and Churchill himself was to blame for the bungling and maldroit effort that was to cost the lives of over 100,000 soldiers.

World War ii

He continued to revive is political and reporting career.But at the start of the second world war Churchill was reinstated as the First Lord of the Admiralty, and took his seat in the war cabinet.

The phoney war had begun and Churchill rejected peace offerings from Hitler in 1939,1940, and 1941.The Fuhrer had no wish to do battle with Britain, he sent his Deputy Rudolph Hess on a peace mission.Churchill had Hess imprisoned.The then Prime Minister provoked Hitler into bombing Britain by striking Berlin and other civilian targets first.[3]

Dunkirk

With the war now for real,Dunkirk was certainly not a success. It was yet another failed conquest for Churchill,as he gave the order to "fall back" without informing the Belgians and the French of his retreat.The allies were cornered by the German army and left as sitting ducks.[3]

Could the war have been over as early as 1940? The reluctant Americans had still not entered into the battle, yet it would be many more years before Churchill would become the great war hero.

There is no doubt Churchill was proud of the Briitish Empire,he is remembered for resisting tyranary and autocracy to defend Britain during the dark war years.But how did he view democracy for other members of the Empire?

The young Churchill acted as Colonial Secretary in the 1920's, here the Minister instigated the infamous black and tan to infilrtate the Irish catholic civillians.The Kurds uprising against British regime was dealt with by Winston commenting,"I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes."[4]

As Prime Minister in 1943 Churchill had to deal with the Bengal Famine, the starving Indians looked for help from British leaders.The support never arrived and 3 million Indians perished with Churchill refusing food supplies and laying the blame on their culture for the Indians plight.[4]

Barack Obama was quite sure of Churchill's history, he had the bust of Churchill, left by George W Bush removed and returned to Britain.His Kenyan grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama, was held captive without trial for two years and was tortured on Churchill's watch, for resisting his Empire.

Despite Britians war victory,the Empire was to become no longer affordable and was sacrificed at the end of the Second World War.

Winston loved the finer things in life, as well as clothes and food,he smoked the best cigars, and alcohol played a big part in his life.

"I took more out of alcohol,than alcohol took out of me."Churchill once said.Recent biographies indicate his fondness for drinking.Churchill's heavy drinking was no secret and even President Roosevelt noted. "Sir Winston was drunk half the time."

Churchill's drunken ramblings in the House of Lords are well documented.Whiskey and soda was his favourite drink, and his addiction to alcohol and nicotine did not help the family cause.Two of his children died of alcoholism.[5]

Well renowned for his gambling,the young Winston suffered from the American stock market crash in 1938 and was declared bankrupt. The wealthy Czeck banker Sir Henry Strakosch saved Churchill.Strakosch who set up the central banks of South Africa and India, bought out Churchills debts and left him £20,000 pounds in his will when he died in 1943.[3]

David Irving also indicates in his book that Churchill was funded by Sir Bernard Waley Cohen during the 1930's.

Many observers regarded Winston Churchill as selfish, reckless and thoughtless, but it seems he had many wealthy fiends who were prepared to bail him out.

History is written for what they want us to believe,as time goes by more evidence is released and we begin to build the picture.Today we can see more of history rather than the "traditional view."

Churchill described the Second World War as the "most unnecessary war in history."Yet Winston Churchill led Britain to victory and wrote his own history.He had his own vanity and a real desire for personal power.Will we remember him for his stuborness and determination that made him a great statesman?Did he almost single-handedly win the war for Britain and change history for the better? Or will we think he was a selfish and dishonest leader,a drunken warmonger, who was the cause of many unnecessary sufferings.

The genuine significance of history is that it is not what it always seems.

1.William Manchester The Last Lion.

2.Churchill and the Jews by Martin Gilbert.

3.Chuchills War by David Irving.

4. Churchill's Empire by Richard Toye.

5.The Private Lives Of Winston Churchill by John Pearson.