Winston Churchill is a famous leader who was never afraid to speak his mind. Leading the UK through World War II, his opinions were often what people wanted to say, but didn’t really have the courage to do so on their own. Fondly remembered and never forgotten, here are some interesting facts about this iconic man.
1. He P-P-Planned Everything
Churchill actually had a rather profound speech impediment. It would often creep up on him if he was in an unplanned situation. To avoid this from happening publicly, he would plan for an event weeks in advance and study every possible social outcome that would happen. Churchill would also practice answers to likely questions about current events to make sure everything was well-rehearsed and not affected by his impediments of speech.
2. Don’t Take His Cigar
One of the most famous images of Churchill was taken by photographer Yousef Karsh. In the image, Churchill looks a little angry, a bit grumpy, and has a look in his eyes that says “Don’t mess with me.” To achieve this look, Karsh actually took one of the famous cigars that Churchill would always smoke and then immediately snapped the photograph afterward. Since he survived to distribute the photograph, we’re pretty sure he gave the cigar right back.
3. Critical of America
If you didn’t find Churchill smoking a cigar, then you’d likely find him having a drink somewhere. The Saudi royal family once told him that he couldn’t drink in front of the king because of their devout religious beliefs. Churchill’s response to this was that his religion mandated him to drink and smoke before, during, and after all means and whenever else it was necessary. This attitude also made Churchill very critical of the US amendments of prohibition. He called it a complete affront to the entire history of humanity.
4. A Planner of Everything
Churchill took his responsibility has a leader very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that he drew up plans that would help to secure his nation should even the most unlikely of scenarios occur. He never trusted the Russians 100% in their alliance with the Allied forces, so Churchill came up with Operation Unthinkable near the end of WWII. In it, if he needed to go after the Soviet Union because they presented a security risk, his plans called for arming 100k Nazi soldiers in his own blitzkrieg style attack. Thankfully it didn’t need to happen since it would have likely continued the worldwide war for several more years.
5. Good With the Hands
Everybody has a hobby. Churchill’s was to lay bricks. He actually built several of the walls that can still be seen at his home at Chartwell today. That’s a pretty interesting way to find peace considering the man once said that he favored letting Gandhi die if he went on hunger strikes regarding the rule of the British Empire in India.
6. A Marked Man
If people thought Churchill was a brave man, then they needed to meet his bodyguard Walter Thompson. Thompson is confirmed to have saved the life of Churchill more than 20 times when the leader was in office. Nationalists from India and the Arab World had multiple assassination attempts against him, as did Nazi spies, communist sympathizers, the IRA to the west, and even shrapnel that rained down during the German blitz.
7. A Believer in the Supernatural
If you visit Churchill’s grave, you will notice that the epitaph is very reflective of the wit that he always had. It says that he’s prepared to meet his maker, but that his maker might not be prepared to meet him. Churchill always had some strong beliefs in regards to supernatural phenomenon. He’s one of three people who have said that they saw the ghost of Abraham Lincoln wandering in the White House. The other two are Teddy Roosevelt and the daughter of Ronald Reagan.
8. An Interesting Prize
Many world leaders in the West have won the Nobel Prize over the years because of their actions in fostering peace between nations. Many might automatically assume that Churchill’s prize that he won in 1953 would be because of this, but it was not. Churchill actually had a lengthy literary career that dates back all the way to 1898 when he reported on campaigns that were happening in Sudan. He was actually held as a POW working as a newspaper reporter at the time. He made his escape on his own my walking and riding trains for over 300 miles. After WWII, he wrote six volumes worth of material about his memories and encounters.
9. A Measure of Health
In the days of WWII, Churchill’s health was always up for some sort of debate. He couldn’t fly in a traditional pressurized cabin, so a chamber known as the “Life Pod” was built for him. Inside the pod was an air circulation system and an ash tray so he could smoke. There was also a phone in case he needed to speak with someone while in flight.
10. The Definition of Terror
Churchill said that he’d never go down without a fight. This was proven when he had a lifeboat outfitted with a machine gun so that if he had to be set adrift, he could still potentially take some of the enemy down with him. This attitude would also be highly questioned when he pursued an alliance with the Soviet Union, ultimately agreeing to cover up the massacre by the Soviets of 20,000 Polish citizens and to label the International Red Cross as terrorists because of the investigation that there conducting regarding the incident.
He’s also remembered for creating a famine in India and exporting food out of the country instead of feeding people, ultimately killing millions.
11. A Pale, White House
The visit to the White House that Churchill enjoyed in 1941 was notable for more than just his seeing the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. It was said that when he didn’t have to conduct state business while there, he stayed in his room and drank brandy the entire time without any clothes on.
12. The Law of Speaking
At one point in time, there was an actual grammar law which mandated that no one end their sentences in a preposition. That law is still unofficially enforced to this day thanks to the tens of thousands of language teachers. Churchill was not a fan of it whatsoever. He always said that he would speak and write in the way that he wanted.
Winston Churchill is a titanic figure of the 20th century, but not everyone remembers him fondly. These fun facts, however, paint a complete portrait of who he was as a man and a leader.
