Sir Winston Churchill (1874–1965) was one of the best known international figures of the Twentieth Century. During the Great War he was Britain’s First Lord of the Admiralty, then during the inter-war years Chancellor of the Exchequer. That experience meant he was already a politician of great experience and international renown since by the time he became Britain’s Prime Minister in May 1940 upon the resignation of Neville Chamberlain. Over the following five years at war, Churchill led his country and the Allied Powers against its enemies before achieving victory in 1945. Churchill came to epitomise hope, strength and resolve for both those fighting and those at home.
Apart from his courage, appetite for work and leadership qualities, Churchill was a man of surprising breadth. He was also a writer, artist, orator, humorist, historian and even an accomplished bricklayer! His early experiences as a soldier in India and at the Second Boer War, then also as a correspondent, helped shape his later character as an imaginative, bold and inspirational politician and Statesman.
Despite the gratitude shown to Churchill by his countrymen for guiding them safely through World War II, in 1945 Churchill lost the General Election. Despite this, he remained in Politics and led the Conservative Party to power again in 1951, becoming Prime Minister until his retirement in 1955.
When he died in London on 24 January 1965 at the age of 90, Churchill was given a State Funeral and remembered across the world as one of the greatest figures of his century. His life and career had spanned perhaps the greatest period of technological advancement and unrest the modern world had seen.