Starting from September 2016, the Bank of England has issued a new version of 5 pound plastic banknotes, which is the first time the Bank of England has issued plastic banknotes in history. The plastic banknote is in the G series, with the front pattern of Queen Elizabeth II and the reverse pattern of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
In the survey of "The Greatest 100 British people" held by the BBC in 2002, Churchill defeated Newton, Darwin, Queen Elizabeth and others and was elected as the greatest British man of all time.
A problematic child with prominent background
1874 On November 30, 1874, Winston Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England.
Blaneim Palace is the only building in the UK that is not religious or royal but possesses the title of "Palace". The Duke of Marlborough family was the most prominent family in the British Empire, and Churchill was the grandson of the seventh Duke of Marlborough.
Blenim Palace, also known as Churchill Manor
Because parents were busy with politics and socializing for a long time, Churchill rarely felt the care of his parents in childhood. When he was in school, he was not only naughty but also ranked at the bottom of his grades, but he was often physically punished by his teachers.
19 years old, Churchill was sent by his father to the Royal Military Academy of Sanhurst to study cavalry major; at the age of 21, Churchill, who graduated from the military academy, joined the Cavalry Regiment as a lieutenant. Since then, he went to Spain, Cuba, India and other places as a military reporter to interview and record the British military's military operations.
During this period, Churchill not only experienced the baptism of war, but also read a large number of historical and philosophical books, which also made him fall in love with writing.
Entering the political arena
1900, 26-year-old Churchill returned to the UK, entered the political arena, and became a member of the British Conservative Party. Four years later, he was disqualified by the Conservative Party for repeatedly criticizing the Conservative Party’s policies.
In 1908, 34-year-old Churchill was appointed Minister of Commerce and officially entered the cabinet. He served as Minister of Home Affairs two years later, and then transferred to Minister of Navy and established a combat staff department in the Navy.
In 1914, World War I broke out. The following year, Churchill, who was removed from his post as Navy Secretary, rushed to the front line to participate in the war. In 1917, Churchill, who returned to parliament, was appointed Minister of Quartermaster, and during his term, he expanded the production scale of tanks and promoted the application of aircraft.
1918, the end of World War I, Germany, as a defeated country, was forced to cede land, pay compensation and disarmament.
1923, Churchill, who realized that the power of the Liberal Party was declining, moved closer to the Conservative Party again. Unfortunately, in the 1929 general election, both the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party were defeated and the Labor government began to rule.
Churchill, who entered the low stage of his political career, not only spent a lot of his time writing, but also took advantage of the opportunity to visit the United States to reach people from all walks of life in the United States and political leaders.
was ordered to turn the tide and urged to turn the tide
1933, Adolf Hitler came to power, and Germany refused to repay the compensation for the First World War. At this time, Britain was filled with a pacifist atmosphere. Most people in the parliament advocated disarmament, but only Churchill opposed disarmament. He believed that Hitler's fascist dictatorship would bring disaster to Europe.
In 1936, Hitler announced that the German army had reoccupied the Rhineland demilitarized zone; in 1938, Nazi Germany annexed Austria, and then British Prime Minister Chamberlain advocated the implementation of a policy of appeasement and advocated compromise with the Nazis.
In September 1939, World War II officially broke out and Churchill was re-appointed as Secretary of the Navy.
In May 1940, Chamberlain, who was criticized by lawmakers, submitted his resignation and suggested that Churchill form a cabinet. Churchill knew very well that under the circumstances at that time, no one was willing to serve as prime minister, but he did not give up and did not continue to implement the policy of appeasement, but decided to fight against Nazi Germany to the end.
When he learned of the news that France was about to surrender, he was both surprised and helpless. The defeat on the battlefield, the coalition was trapped in Dunkirk, many people advocated that Britain should negotiate peacefully with Germany, and President Roosevelt was unable to provide assistance, making Churchill, who was isolated and helpless.
But he did not give up, he told the French leader that even if France surrendered, Britain would continue to fight.He ordered the withdrawal of British troops in France, and after the successful retreat of Dunkirk, he delivered a speech in the House of Commons, the most famous during World War II:
"We will fight to the end.
We will fight in France, we will fight in the ocean,
We will fight in the air with increasing confidence and stronger strength,
We will defend the land at all costs,
We will fight on the beach, we will fight at the enemy's landing point,
We will fight in the fields and on the streets, We will fight in the mountains.
We will never surrender,
Even if the majority of our island or the island is conquered and hunger-I never believed that this would happen-we are imperial subjects overseas,
will continue to fight under the armed and protected of the British fleet,
until the New World, when God thinks it is appropriate, take out all its power to save and liberate this old world. ”
Finally, he gained support from people with an absolute advantage of 381 to 0.
In August 1940, Churchill won the support of US President Franklin Roosevelt. Through President Roosevelt's lobbying for the US Congress, the United States finally agreed to provide military assistance to the United Kingdom.
June 22, 1941, Germany declared war on the Soviet Union, and Churchill delivered a national speech:
"Now we must cooperate with the former enemy, the Soviet Union... Any individual or country that follows Hitler is our enemy."
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States announced its participation in the war.
On May 7, 1945, Germany announced its unconditional surrender, and Churchill finally led Britain to win the war against Germany.
The greatest British man ever?
After the war, Churchill, who was originally full of confidence, suffered a crushing defeat in the general election. He was only elected as a member of parliament, and the leader of the Labor Party became the new prime minister. After stepping down, Churchill began to write his World War II memoirs.
In 1946, Churchill delivered the famous "Iron Curtain Speech" on his way to the United States, a speech that was considered a sign of the beginning of the Cold War.
In 1951, Churchill was re-elected as Prime Minister of Britain.
In 1953, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include "Unneeded War", "Memoirs of World War II", "History of English Nationality", etc.
On January 24, 1965, he died of a stroke at the age of 90.
Churchill was a national hero who led the British people to great victory during World War II. He has become a symbol of the heroic and unyielding spirit of the British people. To this day, Churchill is still regarded by the British as the greatest prime minister.
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