How the "poor" became prime minister: the rise of Winston Churchill

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Who doesn't know this man, the greatest Brit in history? Many books have been written about his activities as Prime Minister of Great Britain, but few people know how the formation of a Man took place, who was able to independently build a career and achieve recognition of the nation.

Little William attended one of the finest private schools in Britain, which he considered a hateful hard labor. The boy, suffering from stuttering and lisping, was teased by his classmates for his red hair and nicknamed "Copper Head". The future author of more than 40 books, thousands of articles and the Nobel Prize for Literature laureate in his studies did not have enough stars from the sky and was listed as the last student in the class, and after all, according to the methods of those years, whipping with rods was an important item in the curriculum …

Back in school, Churchill set his sights on a military career. He owes his aspiration to the 1,500-strong collection of soldiers with which he and his brother Jack fought.

Enrolling at Sandhurst Military College on his third attempt, young Winston was assigned to the cavalry, where the least successful cadets were sent. It was considered prestigious to serve in the infantry, and the most capable aspired to the artillery.

Young Churchill graduated from Sandhurst as one of the best graduates, with honors, and was enlisted as a cornet in the 4th Hussars.

Great Britain of those years had not fought big wars for a long time (the last was the Crimean War), so the most cherished desire of any newly minted officer was to gain combat experience, and with it - glory, medals and promotion. Churchill takes part in hostilities in the colonies - in Afghanistan, Sudan, Spanish Cuba, South Africa. Using influential friends of his mother, he was able to combine military service with journalistic activities. Central British newspapers paid dearly for theater correspondence - up to £ 250 ($ 12,000 in modern terms) a month. Books have also been written detailing these campaigns, in which the young "green" author did not hesitate to criticize the honored generals.

Churchill gained frenzied popularity at the beginning of the 2nd Boer War, when, with his participation, a British armored train was saved. Churchill himself was taken prisoner, from which he escaped safely, having overcome 480 km through enemy territory. His fate was followed by newspapers throughout Britain.

Escaping from captivity, Churchill became a celebrity. Back in England, on the rise of voters, he was elected to the House of Commons at the age of 26!

From that moment on, the star of a person who played a crucial role in the history of the 20th century began to grow rapidly, along with Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.