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Most people know Sir Winston Churchill was a talented landscape artist but do you know his other favorite hobby? I’ll give you a hint, it was about as opposite as you can get, but it helps knowing when defining the man.
Churchill was born in November of 1874 in a palace to an aristocratic family. He was afforded all the privileges and expectations from a family with titles and status. His greatest attribute was his clever and curious mind.
Churchill climbed steadily through the ranks in his formative years at both educational and military institutions. He found himself a most effective writer and orator. Throughout his life he would prove to be an extraordinary wordsmith.
He became a journalist. One of his first assignments was to take his talents to South Africa and cover the 1899 Boer War. This would be Churchill’s first taste of action in which he craved. While on a troop train during a reconnaissance mission, the train was attacked. Several British soldiers were killed and many, including Churchill, taken prisoner.
Churchill sought conflict and publicity. One night he scaled a wall alone and escaped, but he was 300 miles behind enemy lines. Through perseverance and luck, he made it back to his lines and finally, Britain, where his story was told which helped him achieve his much sought after hero status. Once back home he ran for political office and won...he was on his way!
During The Great War, Churchill had risen to become the First Lord of the Admiralty by the age of 40. He was a risk taker and difference maker. The War in 1914 was a meat grinding stalemate in Europe. The ever calculating Churchill proposed a solution - a second front. This campaign turned out to be the greatest disaster of his life, Gallipoli.
The Gallipoli Peninsula is on the North side of the Dardanelles, strategically protecting the strait where the Aegean Sea connects with the Black Sea. It was occupied by the Turks. Churchill underestimated the Turkish resolve. The sea and land battles to follow claimed a quarter million casualties on both sides. After nine months the Allies retreated.
Churchill was the international scapegoat. In future political races his rivals would use “Remember the Dardanelles,” as a campaign slogan. Gallipoli was a disaster that would haunt and influence Winston for the rest of his life. Still, after several years in the background, there was probably only one thing that could save Churchill’s career—another global disaster—World War II.
Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain came back to Britain with the Munich Agreement in 1939, promising peace yet guaranteeing war. As the agreement fell apart, England turned to a familiar face for leadership, Winston Churchill. Churchill’s gall and steady guidance through the War is well documented and celebrated by millions, not only in Britain, but around the world.
I have been to the Bunker complex in London where he delivered his inspirational radio messages to an embattled nation, consoling his fellow countrymen to “stay calm and carry on.” The Bunker itself is tiny, looking like a block of jail cells. If those walls could only talk!
The National Churchill Museum is America’s tribute to this great man and the debt we owe him. Located in Fulton, Missouri, where in 1946 he delivered his famed “Iron Curtain” speech, predicting what the world would be dealing with for the next 40 years.
We have released a free podcast from the Museum interviewing the director, Tim Riley. Visit Bobfordshistory.com and take a listen. This speech affected my life, in that I had done a few government projects in the past and got a call in December of 1989 to pack my bags. I was off to Czechoslovakia just two days after the Berlin Wall came down.
My mission wasn’t covert, it was to assess what Czech products could be exported and accepted by the “West” immediately. This was needed to help stabilize a new and suddenly independent Czech economy. My superiors were Fed Chairman Paul Volker and Ambassador Bill Walker, they gave me two weeks! Perhaps more on that adventure later, but the point is Churchill’s speech affected millions of people for decades including yours truly.
BRICKLAYING! How about that for a second hobby! He was an amateur bricklayer, even joining Britons Bricklaying Union.
There have been volumes written on Winston Churchill’s life and achievements. This article is meant to stir your curiosity. Read a book and/or visit the Museum in Fulton. It makes for a great day trip. Learn more about a man whom we owe so much, who overcame mistakes, and went on to help save the world.
You can find more of Bob’s work including his Bob Ford’s History, Mystery and Lore podcast on his website bobfordshistory.com and YouTube videos under Bob Ford’s History. The podcasts are also available on most streaming services. He can also be reached at robertmford@aol.com
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