Category: FAQs

Tax
Young Winston haranguing the electors, Manchester, 1908. (Wikimedia Commons)
“A Nation Cannot Tax Itself into Prosperity”: Churchill’s Quote?

“A Nation Cannot Tax Itself into Prosperity”: Churchill’s Quote?

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Question: "Did Churchill say this? 'For a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.' I can't find it in your 'Churchill by Himself.'" Answer: Indeed he did—and he liked that “bucket” gag so much that he used it at least five times. Someone with courage should pick it up again today.

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JFK
President John F. Kennedy signs a proclamation declaring Sir Winston an honorary US citizen, Oval Office, 9 April 1963. L-R: possibly Kay Halle, who had much to do with it; unidentified; Rep. Frances P. Bolton (R.-Oh.); Sen. Olin D. Johnston (D.-S.C.); Sylvia Ormsby-Gore: British Ambassador David Ormsby-Gore; Rep. Michael A. Feighan (D.-Oh.); Sen. J. William Fulbright (D.-Ark.); Rep. Carl Vinson (D.-Ga.); Sen. Leverett Saltonstall (R.-Mass.). (JFK Library, public domain)
Churchill Meets JFK, 1958: “He thought you were a waiter, Jack”

Churchill Meets JFK, 1958: “He thought you were a waiter, Jack”

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Churchill rarely nursed a grudge. Though Joe Kennedy had upset him with defeatism when the war began, he quickly forgot. He sent condolences and flowers to the funeral of Kathleen Kennedy in 1948 and admired JFK from what he read about the young man and mutual acquaintances. He was anxious to meet Jack in 1959.

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Peace
Heston Aerodrome, 30 September 1938. Mr. Chamberlain returned from Munich with his bit of paper: “My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time.” (Ministry of Information, public domain)
Winston Churchill on Peace with Hitler

Winston Churchill on Peace with Hitler

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"You’re only saying that to be provocative. You know very well we couldn’t have made peace on the heels of a terrible defeat. The country wouldn’t have stood for it. And what makes you think that we could have trusted Hitler’s word—particularly as he could have had Russian resources behind him? At best we would have been a German client state, and there’s not much in that." —WSC

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Hess
Nazis who participated in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, photographaed at Landsberg Prison, 1924: L-R: Adolf Hitler, Emil Maurice, Hermann Kriebel, Rudolf Hess, Friedrich Weber. (Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz, public domain)
Did Hitler Authorize the Flight of Rudolf Hess?

Did Hitler Authorize the Flight of Rudolf Hess?

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Peter Padfield, in "Hess, Hitler & Churchill: The Real Turning Point of the Second World War," claimed that Rudolf Hess’s May 1941 flight to Britain (generally thought to be a solo act) was authorized by Hitler. Allegedly Hess had with him a proposal for an armistice with Britain and German withdrawal from Western Europe in exchange for a free hand to attack Russia.

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champagne
Dinner marking WSC’s 69th birthday, with Roosevelt and Stalin, Teheran, 30 November 1943. (Crown Copyright expired, public domain)
“Churchill Drank 42,000 Bottles of Champagne”?

“Churchill Drank 42,000 Bottles of Champagne”?

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WSC: "Prof! Pray calculate the total quantity of champagne, wine and spirits I have consumed thus far in my life and tell us how much of this room it would fill." Professor Lindemann (pretending a slide rule calculation): "I'm sorry, Winston, it would only reach our ankles." WSC: "How much to do—how little time remains."

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European Court
“A high and a solemn responsibility rests upon us here this afternoon in this Congress of a Europe striving to be reborn.” In one of his classic speeches, Churchill addressed the Congress of Europe at The Hague, 9 May 1948. (© Dutch National Archives, Creative Commons)
Q&A: Human Rights Tried by European Court

Q&A: Human Rights Tried by European Court

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"The European Assembly is now on the point of being achieved.... We have now to take the second step forward and try to establish, as the practical result of our meeting here, the setting up of a European Court of Human Rights." —WSC, Brussels, 1949

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Douglas
HMS Southampton at Jutland, 30 May 1916, by William Lionel Wylie (1851-1931). German salvos (shown too close together) are falling short of the cruiser (also not accurately portrayed). The sketch was a highly effective portrait of an inconclusive battle. (Imperial War Museum, public domain)
Q&A: Churchill Libeled by Lord Alfred Douglas

Q&A: Churchill Libeled by Lord Alfred Douglas

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Lord Alfred Douglas, friend of Oscar Wilde, was involved in several scandals, one of the more unfortunate being his accusation that Churcill manipulated press announcements about the Battle of Jutland in order to favor Jewish investors on the New York Stock Market.

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named
Lord Randolph Churchill married Jennie Jerome on 15 April 1874 at the British Embassy, Paris. (Photo by Georges Penabert, public domain)
Why was Churchill Named Winston?

Why was Churchill Named Winston?

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The pat answer is the first Sir Winston, but this is unlikely. Why would Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill name their son for a 17th century ancestor, and a fairly dubious one at that? No, it was someone more recent: his grandfather, John Winston, 7th Duke of Marlborough.

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December 7th
USS Shaw explodes during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 Deecember 1941. (National Archives)
Churchill Quotations for December 7th

Churchill Quotations for December 7th

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"In two or three minutes Mr. Roosevelt came through. 'Mr. President, what’s this about Japan?' 'It’s quite true,' he replied. 'They have attacked us at Pearl Harbor. We are all in the same boat now.' I put Winant on to the line and some interchanges took place, the Ambassador at first saying, 'Good, Good'—and then, apparently graver, 'Ah!' I got on again and said, 'This certainly simplifies things. God be with you,' or words to that effect."

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drunk
Where’s your glass, Prime Minister? Stalin toasts Churchill’s 69th birthday, Teheran, 30 November 1943. (Faces to camera: Air Marshal Portal, Anthony Eden, unknown, WSC, Marshal Voroshilov, Marshal Stalin, Averell Harriman, interpreter Pavlov.) WSC wrote: “The Marshal and his colleagues invariably drank their toasts from tiny glasses, taking only a sip on each occasion. I had been well brought up.” (Photo by Lt. D.C. Oulds RN, Imperial War Museum, public domain)
Churchill the Drunk. Or: Fasten Seatbelts on Bar Stools

Churchill the Drunk. Or: Fasten Seatbelts on Bar Stools

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Churchill did have an astonishing capacity, and most historians grant him a decided preference for lubrication. But Lockhart is no more reliable than others. from Alan Brooke to Bessie Braddock, who attributed to alcohol a Churchill who worked and harangued 18 hours a day and was often exhausted…. Yet apparently not drunk enough to debate Empire Free Trade—or to spark Lockhart’s imagination.

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Winston Churchill, Myth and Reality

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