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