Churchill's chest of facts!
With Gary Oldman recently winning the Best Actor Award for his portrayal of Iconic British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the Golden Globes, this gallery sheds some insightful facts on Churchill’s life. Take a look at what made him the man he was!
Red Haired
During his time at Harrow School, Churchill was mocked for his red hair.
High Society
As the son of a lord, Churchill led a glamorous life in high society.
Brought up
As a kid, he was brought up by his nanny.
Boarding school
Both himself and his younger brother Jack were sent to boarding schools.
Habit
Churchill’s mother hated his cigar smoking habit.
Biography
Between 1903 and 1905, Churchill, wrote a two-volume biography on his father.
Teddy's name calling
Having read the two-volume biography on Churchill's father, US President Theodore Roosevelt, who knew both Churchill and his father, said they were both cheap and vulgar beings.
War Zone
Between 1895 and 1900 Churchill decided to get himself transferred into as many dangerous military zones as possible, as he wanted to write about his narrow escapes from the front line in the newspapers.
While working as a correspondent for a newspaper in 1899, Churchill had negotiated a salary that made him the highest-paid war correspondent.
Caught
The soldier who captured Churchill - Louis Botha - would later become the future Prime Minister of South Africa.
Escape
When he was captured in 1899, he was immediately taken to a prison camp. But he later escaped by scaling a wall during the night.
Accident Prone
While disembarking a ship in India, Churchill accidentally dislocated his shoulder.
Bricks
Bricklaying was one of his many interests.
Breeder
Churchill was a racehorse breeder.
Hunter
Churchill enjoyed fox hunting.
Polo
Polo was another one of his passions.
Exam Time
Churchill had to take the entrance exam at the Royal Military College three times before finally passing.
Bridge
His Military career was delayed after he fell off a bridge.
Booze
When setting out for the Boer War, Churchill took around 60 bottles of booze with him.
Charlie
Charlie the Curser was Churchill’s pet parrot.
Painter
Churchill enjoyed painting. Sotheby spokesperson, Sarah Thomas, said that Churchill found it to be a relief from all the pressures of his work.
Work of Art
He created almost 600 works of art during his lifetime.
The Gallipoli landings
During the first World War, Churchill’s tenure as First Lord of the Admiralty didn’t go too well, as his brainchild - the Gallipoli landings in the Dardanelles, failed miserably leaving a number of soldiers dead, wounded, missing or captured.
Haunting
The failed events in Gallipoli haunted Churchill for the rest of his life. So much as so that during the Second World War, he admitted to General Marshall (pictured left) that he could still see the sea full of corpses.
Female friends
Despite being refused by three different women upon on his marriage proposals, Churchill still remained friends with all of them.
Out!
In 1922, Churchill found himself out of parliament, having lost a seat.
Pig
Churchill loved pigs, even so much as saying that "Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us, but pigs treat us as equals."
Return to politics
In 1924, Churchill made a return to politics – and was named Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Votes
While he was still a young politician, Churchill opposed votes for women.
Engagement
Less than a month after they announced their engagement, Churchill and Clementine Ogilvy Hozier got married.
Letters
Churchill's wife (pictured) would often send her husband affectionate letters, during long periods when he was away.
Pet Names
Both Churchill and his wife, had pet names for one another, she was 'Kat' and he was 'Pug'.
Kids
Together with his wife, Churchill had five children: Diana, Randolph, Sarah Tuchet-Jesson, Marigold and Mary Soames. Here he is pictured with Sarah and Mary.
Pilot
Fascinated by aerial combat, he started taking flying lessons.
Licence to fly
Churchill never gained his pilot's licence and after being hurt in a plane crash, his wife urged him to give up the hobby.
Cheers!
Champagne was Churchill’s favourite drink.
Connoisseur
He was an expert on fine brandy.
Smoking
It was claimed that the one person that Field Marshal Montgomery would allow to smoke in his presence was Churchill. Here is Churchill is pictured with a cigar in his mouth, greeting Montgomery.
Member
At the outbreak of WWII in 1939, Churchill was appointed as a member of the war cabinet.
Finest Hour
In the month that he took over as Prime Minister, morale was low, and many Brits thought that a victory against the Nazi’s would be impossible. Churchill delivered his first speech, titled 'This was their finest hour'.
Victory
Once the Second World War was over, Churchill said to a huge crowd gathered outside of Whitehall, "This is your victory".
Cradle
It has been alleged that Churchill once said Bolshevism must be "strangled in its cradle".
WWIII
In the final days of WWII, Churchill was already planning another attack, this time on the USSR. But the plan that could have started WWIII, was quickly rejected. (Pictured with Russian dictator, Joseph Stalin on the left).
Visit
Churchill's first visit to the White House was just before Christmas in 1941. Here he is pictured outside the White House.
Ghost
It is rumoured that during one of his stays at the Whitehouse Churchill saw Abraham Lincoln’s ghost.
Defeat
Churchill’s tenure as Prime Minister ended in 1945, when he was defeated by Labour leader Clement Attlee.
Older and weaker
In the 1951 general election, Churchill again became Prime Minister. However as he was much older, his health had worsened.
S
He had a speech impediment, struggling mostly with the ‘S’ sounds.
Health
Physician Lord Charles Moran (pictured) revealed in his book ‘The Struggle for Survival’, that Churchill, who was his patient, suffered from clinical depression.
Laurence of Arabia
Aside from being a good friend of his, British archaeologist T.E Lawrence also worked for Churchill in the 1921 Cairo Conference.
Chaplin
The iconic comedian Charlie Chaplin was another friend of Churchill's
Genius
Albert Einstein was one of his friends.
Holiday Friends
Churchill frequently went on holiday with Greek ship owner Aristotle Onassis, who was another good friend of his.
Gandhi
He was not a fan of Mahatma Gandhi.
Decline
Churchill declined the opportunity to become Duke of London, by Queen Elizabeth II (pictured left).
Monarchy
Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, King George V, King Edward VIII, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II, were all monarchs that Churchill had served under.
Script
While trying his hand at script writing, Churchill once wrote a screenplay for the cinema that depicted the major events in the reign of King George V.
Nobel Prize
Churchill received a Nobel Prize for literature award in 1953. The award made him the only British Prime Minister to have won it since its inception in 1901.
Honorary Citizen
US President John F. Kennedy, proclaimed Churchill as an Honorary Citizen of the United States in 1963.
Career
Churchill's political career lasted over 60 years.
Churchill's prediction
As he had predicted, Churchill died on the same day his father did.
Buried
He was buried in his family plot at St Martin's Church, Bladon, Oxfordshire.
