The Churchill Series - July 22, 2008

(One of a series of weekday posts about the life of Winston S. Churchill.)

Lord Randolph Churchill died January 20, 1895 convinced that his son Winston would be a failure and bring no honor to the family name.

Four weeks later, on February 20, 1895 Winston began his life of service to his country. His biographer, Martin Gilbert, records:

”Churchill entered the cavalry. …

His commission was made out, according to custom, from Queen Victoria to ‘Our Trusty and well beloved Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, Gentleman,’ and was signed by the Secretary of State for War, Campbell-Bannerman, who less than eleven years later as Prime Minister would appoint Churchill his first Ministerial office, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies.

During the next half-century, Churchill served four Kings - Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII and George VI - and another Queen - Elizabeth II - in a number of Ministerial offices, including the premiership during Britain's darkest and finest hour.

Churchill’s last day of inisterial service was April 5, 1955, when he resigned as the Queen’s Prime Minister.

In his remaining years, Churchill often expressed regret that his father, whom he loved and admired, had not lived long enough to see the course his life took. He died on January 20, 1965, seventy years to the day of his father’s death.
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For this post, I drew from Martin Gilbert’s Churchill: A Life. The passage quoted is found on pg. 51 of the Henry Holt & Co’s 1991 American Edition.