Owen F.

The Life of Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill is widely regarded as one of the most significant political figures of the 20th century. While he is predominantly known for his time as Prime Minister of Britain and for leading them through times of immense struggle, his life was much more than that. In addition to serving as the Prime Minister, he also served in the United Kingdom military as well as wrote many novels, as he was a very avid writer. This biography will explore his life from start to finish, from his childhood experiences to the end of his political career and eventual death. 

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born on November 30, 1874, at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England, the home of the Dukes of Marlborough (Addison 7). His mother, Jennie Churchill, was an American socialite, the daughter of American financier Leonard Jerome, and his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a Conservative politician and the younger son of the Duke of Marlborough (Addison 7-8). Winston lived a very complicated childhood. Even though he grew up with immense privilege, he struggled with many things such as creating a bond with his family and academics. While his parents loved him, he struggled to create a true connection with his mother and father, leaving him to feel extremely neglected (Addison 11). Even though he felt neglected, Churchill grew a massive ego at a very young age. Because of his massive ego, he has a large desire for attention, but because his parents were so uninvolved in his life, his nanny, Elizabeth Everest, who also became the surrogate mother for Winston’s family, gave him the most attention and affection (Addison 10). Due to his feeling of neglect by his parents and his massive ego, Winston would send them letters from boarding school, berating them for “not meeting his wishes and demands” (Addison 11). Winston’s massive ego was also a large problem in his academic life. His teachers at Harrow, a school he enrolled at in 1888, would complain about his demeanor at school, but any punishment that they would give him would only make his attitude worse (Addison 12). In addition to his behavior at school, he was academically challenged in some subjects. He struggled in and detested subjects like mathematics and Latin (Addison 12), but he excelled in English, History, and Chemistry, which were “subjects that captured his imagination” (Addison 12). After Harrow, he attempted to enroll in the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. This came after several attempts, as he struggled to pass the entrance examination. Churchill finally succeeded on his third attempt and was accepted in 1893. His father, Lord Randolph, however, was unimpressed and sent Churchill a letter “threatening to break off all contact with him” (Addison 12). After completing his training in Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Queen’s Hussars as a soldier (Addison 14). During his military career, he had many experiences in many places all around the world. In 1895, he was stationed in Cuba to observe and make reports on the state of the Spanish rule (Addison 14) and in October of 1896, he was stationed in India, where the British had established an empire as colonizers (Addison 14). During his time as a soldier, he also wrote a handful of novels. In 1898, he wrote his novel, The Story of the Makaland Force Field, a novel that expanded on his reports while stationed in the British Empire in India (Addison 18). In addition to that, he wrote his two-volume piece The River War on Mahdi’s Revolt against Egypt's rule over Sudan (Addison 18) and in 1900, while he was back in England, he wrote his novel Saravola, a novel on the “autocratic state of the Mediterranean” as he was stationed in Egypt as a soldier for some time (Addison 18). 

While Churchill’s childhood and his time as a soldier and writer were significant, the most pivotal part of his life was his political career, especially as Prime Minister during World War II, as Britain was one of the main countries involved. Churchill was first elected to Parliament in 1900 as a Conservative for Oldham, but after just four years, he switched to the Liberal Party (Churchill Archives). Churchill became Prime Minister on May 10, 1940, after Neville Chamberlain resigned (Churchill Archives). During World War II, Churchill was the one who led Britain through their struggles. As the German armies took over France and Britain faced the Blitz, Churchill’s speeches became a source of inspiration for the British people, reminding them to never give up (Churchill Archives). He worked hard to convince the U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt to support Britain in the war, building a strong personal relationship with him. This paid off, as there were multiple instances where that alliance worked in Churchill’s favor (Churchill Archives). Despite his dislike for Communism, Churchill worked with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin after Hitler invaded Russia, which showed Churchill's true distaste toward Nazi Germany, as Churchill famously said, “If Hitler invaded Hell, I would at least make a favorable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons” (Churchill Archives). In 1945, when Nazi Germany was defeated, it was clear Churchill played a role in that. However, even after aiding in the defeat of Nazi Germany, Churchill was defeated in the general election shortly afterward (Churchill Archives). In 1951, however, he was reelected back into office, but many saw him unfit for the position due to his declining health (Gov.uk). Due to his consistently declining health, he was forced to  “conduct his business from his bedside” and his “leadership was less decisive than during the war” (Gov.uk). Because of his declining health, he was forced to resign from his position in 1955 (Gov.uk) and officially retired from politics in 1963 (Churchill Archives).

Unfortunately, Churchill’s life was not very long after the war. Just two years after his official retirement from British politics, on January 24th, 1965,  Churchill passed away and was buried back near his hometown (Gov.uk). He died having been married to Clementine Hozier and having five children, Diana, Randolph, Marigold, Mary, and Sarah (Churchill Archives).

Churchill is one of the most important figures of the entire 20th century. His life was full of challenges, especially his childhood, but those experiences are what helped make him into the great leader he was for Britain when they were most in need of one. His relentless commitment to his country, even when his health was declining, shows how much he truly cared about the people of Britain. Even though he didn’t always make the right decision, he always tried his best for the British people. 

Works Cited

Addison, Paul. Churchill: The Unexpected Hero. Oxford University Press, 2005. 

“Churchill Papers and Biography.” Churchill Archives Centre.  University of Cambridge, .

Churchill, Winston S. Never Give In!: The Best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches. Simon & Schuster, 2003.

“Winston Churchill.” Past Prime Ministers, UK Government.

Churchill, Winston S. The Second World War: The Gathering Storm. Faded Page, 2019.

Winston Churchill - Prime Minister | Mini Bio | BIO. YouTube, uploaded by BIO, 13 Oct. 2016.

Churchill, Winston. Churchill Speaks 1897-1963: Collected Speeches in Peace and War. Edited by Robert Rhodes James.