CHURCHILL
CELEBRATING
WORDS // WILLIAM SKELLETT
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T
he lasting legacy of Sir Winston Churchill
has been brought back to life in a
biography of the great man marking the
50th anniversary of his death on January 24,
written by London Mayor Boris Johnson.
Johnson explains: “One man can make all the
difference. Churchill is the resounding human
rebuttal to all who think history is the story of
vast and impersonal economic forces.”
The heroic wartime leader was a fragile
child, standing just 5ft 7ins and with a 31-inch
chest, and was picked on by the other boys at
Harrow, who threw cricket balls at him for fun.
Despite his thundering speeches and
legendary quick wit, Churchill also had a
stammer and Johnson suggests he was driven
by “short man syndrome”. But driven he was.
Through his inspiring leadership, Britain
endured the devastation caused by the Blitz,
which saw 4,073,000 private homes damaged
or destroyed by bombs. And ultimately won
the war.
Churchill led his nation from the front. He
was fearless on the battlefield and even
had to be ordered by King George VI to stay
out of action during the D-Day landings.
Today we can appreciate what the Prime
Minister had to endure during the dark days of
World War II by visiting London’s underground
Churchill War Rooms, run by the Imperial War
Museum.
42 //
CHURCHILL WITH HIS CHIEFS
VE DAY CELEBRATIONS
All images © IWM
