# Winston Churchill the man



## Instal (Oct 27, 2007)

We all know that he was a master orator, brilliant statesman and unparalleled leader but what of the man himself? Does anyone have any insight to what kind of guy he was?


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## Soundbreaker Welch? (Oct 27, 2007)

Didn't he like to smoke cigars?


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## comiso90 (Oct 27, 2007)

The exactly right man for the exactly right time...

he was Brilliant and charismatic

If he were here today, he may be a lorry driver in Essex with a lot of wit to share over a pint..


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## Konigstiger205 (Oct 27, 2007)

The man that saved Great Britain...thats all I can say...although he said some nasty things about my country during WW2...


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## bigZ (Oct 27, 2007)

Enjoyed bricklaying,painting and living beyond his means.


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## Aggie08 (Oct 27, 2007)

From what I understand he was a heavy drinker and smoker and kept a mistress, in sharp contrast to people like Hitler who didn't do any of those. You'll hear that riddle going around and everyone thinks that the guy who didn't smoke or drink would be the good guy. 

Churchill is one of the most quoted people ever, he had some great lines.
All quotes from Winston Churchill Quotes

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."

"Although prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it be postponed."

I like this one "For good or for ill, air mastery is today the supreme expression of military power and fleets and armies, however vital and important, must accept a subordinate rank."

"I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly."

"Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result."

"I was only the servant of my country and had I, at any moment, failed to express her unflinching resolve to fight and conquer, I should at once have been rightly cast aside."

"You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us: to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."

And, of course, the winner. "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."


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## Hop (Oct 27, 2007)

I'm pretty sure Churchill never had a mistress, he was apparently devoted to his wife. Even his drinking has probably been exaggerated, those who knew him said they had never seen drinks watered down so much.


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## The Basket (Oct 27, 2007)

A few ideas

He did drink and smoke but never heard of a mistress before. He was very devoted to his wife.

He was considered a poor administrator.

He used to stay up very late...like Hitler did.

He used to suffer from severe depression.

First Lord of the Admirilty and responsible for the Galipoli campaigns which made him resign and then served in the trenches in WW1.

Always was against Hitler from the early days.

Voted the No.1 Briton af all time and one of the very few people who agree on as being great. Even an attack on him today can be considered controversal.


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## trackend (Oct 27, 2007)

Konigstiger205 said:


> The man that saved Great Britain...thats all I can say...although he said some nasty things about my country during WW2...



It was all the poor sods that are six feet under that saved Britain and that includes all those from allied nations not Churchill's oratory, a great leader yes but its Joe public that do the business whether in the factory on the front line or just having to put up with having the **** bombed out of them.
He lead the country very well and he helped to keep the momentum going but at the end of the day he was in line for a plane ride along with the royal family to Canada that makes it much easier to say we shall fight them on the beaches specially if it ain't you thats going to do the fighting on the beaches.


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## Instal (Oct 27, 2007)

trackend said:


> It was all the poor sods that are six feet under that saved Britain and that includes all those from allied nations not Churchill's oratory, a great leader yes but its Joe public that do the business whether in the factory on the front line or just having to put up with having the **** bombed out of them.
> He lead the country very well and he helped to keep the momentum going but at the end of the day he was in line for a plane ride along with the royal family to Canada that makes it much easier to say we shall fight them on the beaches specially if it ain't you thats going to do the fighting on the beaches.



While I whole heartedly agree it is Joe public that does the fighting and dying and that those that gave thier lives are the only heroes, Winston never shyed from a fight. He was quite brave in both WW1 and the Boer war. I don't think they could have ever got him on a plane to Canada even if Germany had invaded. In fact from what I have read he would have been much happier if he could have been much closer to the fighting. For example he wanted to go on D-day and the only thing that stopped him was King George saying "fine if you are going then so am I"


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## Soundbreaker Welch? (Oct 28, 2007)

That's pretty funny.


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## Instal (Oct 28, 2007)

Both my parents are English and I asked them what they thought about Churchill and both said that they adored the man but with reservation. It seems that he wasn't very concerned about the average Joe. In particular they thought he cared very little about the poor. Most likely a result of the British class system. Perhaps some of the Brits in the forum can add to this.

Another les known Winston quote: I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt but I am not sure who said "Sir if you were my husband I would give you poison" Winston replied "Madam if you were my wife I would drink it"


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## Graeme (Oct 28, 2007)

Lady Astor, aghast at a party. "Mr. Churchill your drunk!" Mr. Churchill: "And you, Lady Astor, are ugly. As for my condition, it will pass by the morning. You, however, will still be ugly."
"Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink." Lady Astor to Winston Churchill
"Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it." --Churchill's reply
"Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me." --Winston Churchill

I've read that he was a callous, unloving father to his children.


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## Instal (Oct 28, 2007)

Graeme said:


> Lady Astor, aghast at a party. "Mr. Churchill your drunk!" Mr. Churchill: "And you, Lady Astor, are ugly. As for my condition, it will pass by the morning. You, however, will still be ugly."
> "Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink." Lady Astor to Winston Churchill
> "Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it." --Churchill's reply
> "Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me." --Winston Churchill
> ...



Thanks for the clarification Graeme (also my name by the way except Graham)


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## Gnomey (Oct 30, 2007)

Would recommend this documentary that was shown on British TV a while back. Whilst not as in depth as it could be it still gives a bit of an insight into him.

Amazon.co.uk: Churchill [2003]: DVD: Ian McKellen


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## Instal (Nov 3, 2007)

Thanks Gnomey


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## Soundbreaker Welch? (Nov 4, 2007)

He was a cold father? 

I think his relationship with his parents was fairly distant. They belonged to the social upper class and he didn't get much family time.


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## Njaco (Nov 6, 2007)

I think he ws the right man at the right time but he did have faults as we most do. I see him as very similar to JFK here in the States. Faults but led well.


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## Watanbe (Nov 15, 2007)

well put simply he provide solidarity and strength when Great Britain needed it most...he was the perfect leader considering their position at the time!!!


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## ccheese (Nov 15, 2007)

Actually, he was a very much "hands on" man when it came to MI-5 and MI-6
and the deceptions that they carried out during WW-II. He had some really
brilliant ideas about how to 'hookwink the jerries". 

For example, up until about Sept. of 1943 the codeword for the invasion was
"Overlord". Just before Sept he had it changed to "Neptune". On orders from
Churchill, thru a German spy called Cicero (in Turkey) who was actually work-
for the British, the codeword "Overlord" was intentionally leaked to the Germans. 
Cicero was really Elyesa Bazna, the valet of Sir Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull, 
in the British embassy in Ankara. During the time
Cicero was "employed" by the Germans, they paid him the equivalent of
1.2 million US dollars. His is quite a story !

By Cicero giving the Germans the codeword for the invasion, it established
he credibility, for use later on when the Brits really wanted to feed the
Jerries some crap.

Charles


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## Hobilar (Nov 16, 2007)

At their first dinner together before Monty went out to take over Eighth Army Churchill asked Monty what he'd like to drink. Monty replied water and said, "I don't drink or smoke and I'm 100% fit." To which Churchill immediately replied, "Well I do drink and smoke and I'm 200% fit." They apparently were telling the truth: Churchill died at age 91, Monty at 89.

General Eisenhower tended to dine with Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London once a week, and on the 25th of August 1942 he and General Clark were summoned to dinner at Number 10 (The Prime Minister's official residence in London). Winston had recently returned from his trip to the Middle East and Russia and was, that night, in extremely good form. At one point Churchill had knocked a tall glass off a side table, but carried on talking as though it had never happened. He also suddenly asked for a change of socks and, without any hint of embarrassment, took his old pair off and put the new ones on. Later, the Prime Minister stood up and started scratching his back against the edge of a door. "Guess I picked 'em up in egypt, " was his explanatIon to the astonished guests.

Despite being reknowned for his skill in making great and inspiring speeches, Winston Churchill made only five radio broadcasts to the public during the course of the Second World War (and in one of these the Prime Minister spoke for just two minutes).

In today's TV age, one couldn't envisage a country's political leader getting away with that in time of war, could we?


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