January 1, 1970

On Churchill’s eightieth birthday on 30 November 1954, Parliament assembled in Westminster Hall to honour him. In his speech that day, Churchill acknowledged the role that writing and speech-making had played in his life.

‘I was very glad that Mr Attlee described my speeches in the war as expressing the will not only of Parliament but of the whole nation. Their will was resolute and remorseless and, as it proved, unconquerable. It fell to me to express it, and if I found the right words you must remember that I have always earned my living by my pen and by my tongue. It was a nation and race dwelling all round the globe that had the lion heart. I had the luck to be called upon to give the roar.’

(Churchill, in his speech at his eightieth birthday celebration at Westminster Hall, 1954).