Churchill in Miniature

Kate Clements, Winston Churchill, Imperial War Museum, 2025, 96 pages, £12.99. ISBN 978–1912423835

Review by HARRY ATKINSON

Kate Clements of the Imperial War Museum’s Churchill War Rooms has created this small coffee table book, which provides a refreshingly light and educative chronology of Sir Winston Churchill’s life through pictures. Most of the published photographs have been carefully selected from the IWM’s own archive, handpicked by Clements and her team. These she has linked together with choice prose to paint a picture of Churchill’s story in brief. The photographs are wide-ranging and capture significant moments in his life, from his early years living in Ireland to his state funeral in 1965. All have been reproduced with great care and quality and tell the splendid story in a simple but effective way.

Clements has focussed on Churchill’s public image and how he self-consciously nurtured this throughout his life. He was ambitious from a young age, and the routes he took and the decisions he made during his early life were all about achieving something bigger—something greater—than himself. As he famously stated when he became Prime Minister in 1940: “I felt as if I was walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.” This theme is perfectly captured here, providing readers with a good explanation as to why Churchill is still famous and recognisable today, sixty years after his death.

This bitesized chronology of Churchill’s fascinating life will make a fine addition to the coffee table of any established Churchillian and also serve as a splendid gift for someone with an interest in learning more about Churchill, but who does not wish to wade through a heavier biography. The ideal place to purchase a copy is after a long visit to the Churchill War Rooms whenever you next find yourself in London.

Harry Atkinson is a veteran of the Royal Australian Navy. He now lives in England.

Bulletin #202 — Mar 2025