Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Churchill

"A joke is a very serious thing."

"I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."

"Attitude is a little thing the makes a big difference."

"Difficulties mastered are opportunities won."

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it." (Winston Churchill Quotes)

All of these inspirational quotes have great meaning and all come from the one man, Winston Churchill. Churchill was a great leader, both in the political office and on the battlefield. He was one of the greatest men during the 20th century. Winston Churchill accomplished many goals in his life, and they all helped the world in there own unique way.

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born in 1874 into a wealthy and very famous family. He was born in the Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, Great Britain. Spencer was his real last name, but he chose to use the surname Churchill like his father did. The Blenheim Palace was a mansion built by his illustrious ancestor, the first Duke of Marlborough, to commemorate his famous victory over the French in 1704. Winston was born with a speech impediment. He was criticized his whole childhood for it. It got better as he grew up, but never really went away. Winston spent most of his child depressed and unhappy (www.u-s-history.com). Mainly due to the fact that his parents had no time for him, but also he was chubby and did not do well in the classroom. He was a very stubborn child and had no self-esteem. He didn't have many friends and he hated when he had to be social.

Churchill grew up in a family with a well-known name. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a man of many accomplishments. He thought of Winston as a disappointment to him and the Churchill family (www.u-s-history.com). Randolph thought this because he was such a successful man and never thought Winston would ever accomplishing anything. Another reason why Winston and Randolph never got along is Lord Randolph never had or never made time for Winston (www.u-s-history.com). Lord Randolph passed away when Winston was 19. His mother, Lady Jennie Jerome Churchill, was much like his father. She was an American heiress and she, too, didn't have much time for little Winston (www.u-s-history.com). She passed away in 1921 when Winston was 40. Winston Churchill also had a grandfather with much prestige, and he was the seventh Duke of Marlborough.

Churchill attended Harrow, a private secondary boarding school located near Oxfordshire. He entered Harrow at the age of 12, and did not like the idea of it at all. Little Winston absolutely hated school, especially math. He never did well in math class nor did he try. He was the type of kid that if something wasn't easy to get right away, he did not want any part of it (www.u-s-history.com). Winston had the worst grades in his class, and unfortunately he was in the lowest class making him the dumbest student in the school when it comes to looking at grades. He finished Harrow with one of the poorest academic records ever. There was one major advantage, however, that Winston pulled out of his schooling in Harrow; he fell in love with writing and literature

(www.u-s-history.com). This helped him immensely in what he went on to do in the future.

After his poor performance and lack of intelligence over his years at Harrow, Winston's dad decided to send him off to military school. Winston had no say in where he went after he graduated from Harrow. His dad took control of his life through his schooling, but sadly Lord Randolph died shortly after he got into military school. Winston attended the Royal Military Academy located in Sandhurst. It was not easy for Winston to get into the military academy. He had to take a test to be accepted, and being to poor student it was very difficult for him. He was finally accepted after his third time taking the entrance exam into Royal. Winston wasn't a very high achiever during his younger years. There were two ways to go when he got into the academy, he could either go into the infantry or the cavalry. They didn't really differ in many ways other than the required grade. In infantry the expectations were much higher and you had to get good grades to even be able to stay. The cavalry was more laid back and the grades were not a main worry. So Winston, knowing that he was not successful in school, went into cavalry. Winston made great leaps and bounds while attending Royal. He started as one of the dumbest kids in his class and ended up one of the smartest. Winston graduated from Royal with outstanding grades; also his class rank on graduating day was 8th out of 150 students in his class. Right after graduating from Royal Military Academy, Winston was drafted into The 4th Hussars regiment, which was well looked upon be many people.

Churchill met his wife, Clemintine Hozier, in 1904 at a ball in the Crewe House. He proposed to Clementine during a house party at Blenheim Palace on August 10, 1908. On September 12, 1908, they were married in St. Margaret's, Westminster. The church was packed; the Bishop of St. Asaph conducted the service. In March 1909, the couple moved to a house at 33 Eccleston Square. Their first child, Diana, was born in London on July 11, 1909. After the pregnancy, Clementine moved to Sussex to recover, while Diana stayed in London with her nanny. On May 28, 1911, their second child, Randolph, was born at 33 Eccleston Square. Their third child, Sarah, was born on October 7, 1914 at Admiralty House. Clementine gave birth to her fourth child, Marigold Frances Churchill, on November 15, 1918, four days after the official end of World War I. In the early months of August, the Churchills' children were entrusted to a French nursery governess in Kent named Mile Rose due to both the parents being busy at the time. While still under the care of Mile Rose, Marigold had a cold, but was reported to have recovered from the illness. As the illness progressed with hardly any notice, it turned into septicaemia. Following advice from a landlady, Rose sent for Clementine. However the illness turned fatal on August 23, 1921, and Marigold was buried in the Kensal Green Cemetery three days later. On September 15, 1922, the Churchills' last child was born, Mary. Later that month, the Churchills bought Chartwell, their new home, which would be Winston's home until his death in 1965.

Shortly after graduating from Royal a war broke out in South Africa. Winston had recently left the 4th Hussars and wanted to find a job in writing. He found a