1965, News: Winston Churchill dies at the age of ninety

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill died at his London home on the morning of Sunday 24 January 1965. On 15 January 1965, Churchill suffered a severe stroke that left him gravely ill. It was not the first time Churchill suffered a stroke. While on a holiday in the south of France in the summer of 1949 he had a mild stoke. In June 1953, when he was 78, Churchill suffered a more severe stroke at 10 Downing Street. The news was kept from the public and from Parliament. He suffered another mild stroke in December 1956.

Winston Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British politician, best known for his leadership of the UK during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century. He was twice Prime Minister of the UK (1940–45 and 1951–55). Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer, and an artist. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. Churchill is also known for his impressionist scenes of landscape, many of which were painted while on holiday in the South of France, Egypt or Morocco. He continued his hobby throughout his life and painted hundreds of paintings. He wrote several newspaper articles, the most famous are those that appeared in the Evening Standard from 1936 warning of the rise of Hitler.

Winston Churchill in 1895, Cornet (Second Lieutenant) in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars

Winston Churchill in 1904 as a member of Parliament

In his political career he held many cabinet positions. Before the First World War, he was President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, and First Lord of the Admiralty. During the war, he became First Lord of the Admiralty and he was briefly in active army service on the Western Front as commander of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. After the First World War he was Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Winston Churchill making his famous Victory Sign during the Second World War

Out of office during the 1930s he warned about Nazi Germany. On the outbreak of the Second World War, he was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain on 10 May 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister. His stuburn refusal to consider defeat, surrender, or a compromise peace helped inspire British resistance, especially during the difficult early days of the Second World War when Britain stood alone in its active opposition to Adolf Hitler.

Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, and Joseph Stalin at the Potsdam Conference, Germany, 28 Jul 1945

After the Conservative Party lost the 1945 election, he became Leader of the Opposition. Winning the 1951 election, he became Prime Minister once more, before retiring in 1955. He was buried with a state funeral held at St Paul's Cathedral on 30 January 1965, which saw one of the largest assemblies of world statesmen in history. Named the Greatest Briton of all time in a 2002 poll, Churchill is widely regarded as being among the most influential people in British history.

Winston Churchill painting

"Cork Trees near Mimizan", 1924 by Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill Funeral (1965, b/w)

In Memoriam Winston Churchill (Dutch, 1965)

Winston Churchill Funeral (1965, colour)