Watch newsreel footage of the Conference, with some of Churchill’s speech, here. Churchill stops his speech to take a drink and then says: ‘I don’t often do that’. After laughter and applause, he then adds, with perfect comedic timing, ‘I mean, when I’m making a speech’.
© British Pathé
In 1969, four years after Sir Winson Churchill died, a full-size bust of the former Prime Minister was unveiled in the Lobby of the UK’s Parliament. The bust by the artist by Oscar Nemon, creator of some of the most iconic Churchill sculptures.
© British Pathé
Winston Churchill broadcasts on the situation after the first ten weeks of war
In 1939, Winston Churchill was the First Lord of the Admiralty. Here in archival newsreel footage he broadcasts an update of the war.
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Churchill loved travelling by sea and the Queen Mary was one of his favourites
Watch rare footage of Winston Churchill in this short film as he becomes PM to lead Britain and her allies through WWII. Churchill travelled across the Atlantic aboard the Queen Mary on three occasions during the war, outrunning the German U2 boats, to keep the Grand Alliance intact. For more detail on the story, see this article from Finest Hour magazine Churchill Afloat – Liners and the Man.
The Queen Mary sailed on her Maiden Voyage in 1936 from Southampton, England to New York City. In 31 years of plying the North Atlantic Ocean in war and peace, in fair weather and foul, the Queen Mary would become the most legendary ocean liner the world has ever known.
Winston Churchill enjoyed travelling in grand style by sea and crossed the Atlantic aboard the Queen Mary three times during the Second World War. For security reasons during the war, Churchill was known by the alias ‘Colonel Warden’ while at sea. He even signed the D-Day Declaration while aboard the Queen Mary. In the post-war period, he traversed the Atlantic six more times aboard the Queen Mary or her sister ship Queen Elizabeth.
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Palace, London, 12 June 1941
Speech to a Conference of Dominion High Commissioners and Allied Countries’ Ministers at St. James’s
For the transcript, see The Unrelenting Struggle, London: Cassell, 1942, 161.
Churchill at Harvard – “Harvard confers its coveted degree upon Winston Churchill. In his speech, the Prime Minister pledges that England will march side by side with the U.S. to complete victory.”
On 14 August 1946 King George conferred upon Winston Churchill the ancient honour of the appointment as Lord Warden and Admiral of the Cinque Ports.