The Life of Winston Churchill – From Boy to Man
Winston was a man who waited for no one. He made his own rules and made the impossible possible. He gave everything he had into what he believed was right and would not stop until he accomplished what he was aiming for. Through his whole life Winston was always testing the limits and pushing the line. He refused to loose and saw winning as the only option. He once sated, “We are all worms, but I do believe I am a glowworm.” This was Winston’s outlook and life how he approached everything in it (Treniowski 141). This was the attitude that enabled him to lead a country that was out manned and gunned through its darkest hour, the hard and trying times of World War Two.
Winston was from the beginning a stubborn child. He went through nannies as quickly as he went through diapers (Wibberley 7). No one could understand him, and he was not about to change just to please them. That is until Mrs. Everest came along; Mrs. Everest was a caring woman with enough patience to tame a mule, or in this particular case Winston Churchill.
Mrs. Everest understood that Winston was a little boy full of energy that needed diversion to keep him out of trouble. She also realized that Winston would never sit through an actual literature lesson so instead Mrs. Everest read adventure stories to him. Winston’s favorite story, the adventure filled Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson’s, was a major influence in his decision to pursue a military career (8). Treasure Island and the other stories that Mrs. Everest read to Winston when he was young developed in him the love for books that he carried through his entire life.
Formal education was unavoidable, and Winston was forced to go to his first school, the technologically advanced St. James School. St. James was a strict school that practiced swift and harsh punishment for those who refused to conform to the rules; Winston was repeatedly beaten for misbehavior (14). After it was apparent that Winston would not behave at St. James his parents decided to move him to Brighton, a “more kindly and understanding school ran by two little old ladies,” (15).
After attending Brighton for a number of years, where Winston developed a love for the English language and history, Winston applied for entrance into Harrow. Harrow was a top school that the Churchill family had attended for generations, it stressed the importance of the Latin and Greek languages both of which Winston did not care for and therefore never learned. At the entrance exam the professor passed out blank white paper and asked the students to place their name on the top of the page, which Winston did with deliberate and bold strokes.
The students where then instructed to begin their examinations. Winston placed a number one on the paper and looked at the first question, it was in Latin. The next question was in Greek and so on alternating between the two languages Winston never learned. At the end of the exam all Winston had written was his name and the number one. The professor was intrigued by Winston’s paper, or lack of, and went ahead and let him into the lowest division in the lowest form of the school (16).
Winston never did learn Latin or Greek due to his placement in the school he was considered too “stupid” to be enrolled in the Latin classes and was consequently placed in the English class. He spent three years in English because he never got “smart” enough to be in the Latin class. This extra time spent in learning the English language suited Winston just fine. He loved the language and quickly mastered the tricks and rules of it, which would serve him far better than any Latin he might have learned in years to come.
While in school, Winston, as all young boys do, loved the break he got every year to return home and see his family. Winston loved to visit home because it gave him the opportunity to watch his father in action at the House of Commons. Winston’s father, Lord Randolph, was very active in politics and held many prominent positions in the British Parliament. There was nothing Winston wanted more than to join his father on the floor in the House of Commons and debate with him about the important matters of the nation (27).
Winston did not spend all of his time watching his father he still had the exuberance of youth and needed to run and play. Once, while playing a game with his brother and cousin, in which the two other boys were hunting him as he tried to get away. Winston became trapped on a bridge that spanned a small gorge filled with trees, but Winston who never would even consider the possibility of surrender, leapt from the bridge thinking he would land in a tree. He missed, and fell to the ground knocking himself unconscious for three days. It was three months before he got out of bed and a full year before he was pronounced recovered. Only Winston’s will to survive and the skill of the surgeon saved him from certain death (22).
Winston’s resilience to give in helped Winston in gaining his first seat in parliament. He lost his first and second bids for election, but refusing to abandon his goal he gathered his forces and tried again in the general election of 1900. He won running on the Conservative Party ticket, and at age twenty-five gained his first seat in Parliament.
Winston was always a subject of controversy in the House of Commons, even in the beginning. Instead of quietly assuming his role, as typical first year seat holders do, Winston jumped right into the fray dealing with the Boer War, and immediately took the view opposing the majority. His opinion was that even though victory had to be complete, the hand of friendship should be quickly extended and the wounds of war healed quickly, instead of continued oppression (94).
These bold moves in Parliament quickly gained him recognition, and he ascended up the political ladder at a freighting pace. In 1911 Winston was appointed First Lord of Admiralty, due to his unrelenting speeches about rearming the Navy against a possible attack from Germany (Bocca 247). With his acquirement of the First Lord of Admiralty Winston immediately began to prepare Britain for what he believed would be a war with Germany.
He was right, within a few years the British Empire was right in the middle of World War One. Winston’s foresight however helped to quickly minimize and eliminate the Germans naval operations. He even developed a plan to defeat Germany in the early stages of the war, but due to miscommunications and slow movements by other military branches his plan faltered and failed horribly. Winston’s Blunder, as it came to be called, cost the British Empire thousands of troops and ships. The public was so upset with the whole campaign that they demanded Winston’s removal from office. Yielding to public opinion parliament removed Winston from office and sent him to the front trenches outside of France (Wibberley 136).
Winston loved the trenches, he found them “exciting and refreshing to be back among the ‘real men’ of war”(Churchill 294). While in the trenches Winston had command over a small regiment that was continually faced with opponents that were usually larger and better armed than his. Still, he somehow managed to win the majority of his engagements and retreat from his losses with remarked ably minimal damage (Wibberley 138-140). This time spent in the trenches, facing unfavorable odds, and getting “a refresher on real life combat” helped Winston latter in life when, in much the same situation, he was faced with leading a nation into and through war.
After the war was over Winston returned home and immediately returned to hammering away at the political dealings with Germany and Russia. In contrast to the majority of the allied powers, who wanted to severely punish Germany and her allies by restraining their economies and governments, Winston wanted to purse peace with the Germans and help them to rebuild hoping that friendship would put out the flames of hate. Winston believed that by helping the Germans they would become closer and decrease the possibility of another war, whereas restraining them would only anger them and push them towards another war (149). Winston, seeing the trouble that would come from communism, also wanted to help the Tsar of Russia against the Bolsheviks and put down the Red Russians led By Lenin (150).
However, Winston was unsuccessful in persuading the House of Commons, who fueled by strong feelings of hate and revenge, imposed strict and harsh regulations on the Germans and also refused to help the Tsar. These unforgiving regulations were the first seeds of World War Two, sowing hate and discontent among the Germans towards the allied nations. Winston noticed early in the thirties the Germans growing contempt for the other European nations and counseled the rearmament of Britain as early as 1935 (Bocca 142).
Once again Churchill was ignored, and in response to growing German antagonism the House of Commons decided to do nothing, believing that Germany would never consider starting another war. Even when Hitler took power and started using open aggression against neighboring countries the House of Commons, desperately wanting to avoid another World War, did nothing to stop him. Laughing at, and even threatening to kick him out of office, Neville Chamberlain told Winston to “refrain from promoting war with talk of rearmament.” The House of Commons agreed with Chamberlain and decided that his appeasement policy was the best course of action to avoid war (Cornfield 22).
Chamberlain, under pressure from Churchill and other pro-rearmaments, decided to met with Hitler and discuss Germany’s aggression towards Austria and Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain, following his appeasement policy, yielded to Hitler’s demands in hopes that he would be satisfied and another war could be avoided (Bocca 154). Chamberlain continued in his timid approaches towards Hitler’s advances giving more and more up.
Finally it became apparent that something had to be done to stop Hitler’s advances because he would never be satisfied. The British people were tired of seeing their leaders give in time and time again to this “bully from Germany.” More and more the British people began to listen to Winston, until finally they demanded that he be given a cabinet position (170). Chamberlain refused declaring; “I still have hope for peace and will not give up until it is achieved” (171).
Then on September 1st 1939 at 5:30pm German tanks rolled into Poland, the time for action could no longer be ignored. The House of Commons immediately sparked into action rallying behind Winston and his fraction. Members of Parliament, citing faults in Chamberlain’s leadership, gave speeches on a daily basis calling for his resignation. Chamberlain’s friend and confidant, Kingsley, even helped Winston in confronting Chamberlain convincing him of his need to step down from office (Cornfield 22). Then on May 10th 1940 following the speech given by Lord Lloyd George calling on Chamberlain “who has asked for our sacrifice to make his own sacrifice and step down for the greater good of British Empire,” Neville Chamberlain relinquished his Prime Ministry to Winston S. Churchill (23).
At the time of Winston’s take over the military status of the British Empire was in the worst condition it had ever been in, and it was up to Churchill to fix it (Bocca 172). Churchill went about this in many ways, but the one he used the most and had the greatest success with was using speeches to raise morale and inspired greatness. Winston’s greatest weapon was his language and oration abilities. He could rouse a man’s emotions to do things that they would never do other wise (Tresniowski 142). Winston used this ability time and time again through out his term as Prime Minister.
The first time Churchill unleashes this unprecedented weapon as Prime Minister is in the House of Commons, when he calls on all of the British people stating, “Even though we are at war and things look bleak, hold onto hope and be ye men of valour”(Churchill 688). Three days later on May 13th, 1940 Winston Churchill delivered another of his famous speeches declaring to all of Britain, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.” This statement stuck right to the hearts of the British people and rallied them behind him (Goode 24). Then again on the 18th of June 1940 Churchill delivered another speech of even greater notoriety, the “Finest Hour Speech.”
In this speech Churchill, speaking on the fall of France and the inevitable attack on Britain from Germany, rallies his people to Britain’s defense with these words: “âÂ?¦If we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say, “This was their finest hour” (Churchill 679).
With the fall of France, Great Britain was left with out an ally of any notable strength, their only hope was to try and bring the Untied Sates into the war. Churchill always knew that with out the United States fully engaged in the war, defeating Nazi Germany would be next to impossible (Treniowski 141). With this in mind, Churchill swallowed his own dislike for relying on others, and began to actively seek the United Stated aid. However, he was not quiet about his dislike of seeking aid and frequently stated, “The only thing worse than having allies is not having allies” (Goodman 59).
Despite Churchill’s best efforts the United Sates remained aloof from the actual war, helping only with supplies and sending minimal equipment. Finally though, only after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States entered into the war. With the alliance of the United States Churchill stated, “The war is finally won” (Tresniowski 141). Churchill knew that it would be a long battle still, but with the American’s help victory was inevitable (Goodman 59).
Roosevelt and Churchill, despite their personal dislike for each other, recognized the genius of the other and respected each other’s views. Together they had more power than any other warlords past or present (Goode 25). They immediately set to the task ahead of them, to bring about the complete defeat of Nazi Germany. Through many messages and meetings finally they agreed on the best plan of attack and put it into action. It was only a matter of time now until Germany was finally beaten back (Goode 24).
Less than two months later the German Air Force attacked Britain in all its furry. Three weeks into the bombardment Churchill once again loosed his most powerful weapon, and delivered his renowned “Victory Speech.” Calling on the young pilots of the nation to stay strong and persistent Churchill added his own resolve: “Victory. Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the war may be.” Britain rallied, and spurred by Churchill’s great faith in the Royal Air Force, and his continual speeches prompting his people not to give in, Britain survived.
