Churchill always bowed to his service chiefs on the big issues. ibid.
Alamein was the only important battle the British would win alone. ibid.
Churchill displayed an amazing fascination for modern technology. ibid.
He started his own special inventions department. ibid.
Churchill’s greatest weakness in judging commanders was a taste for heroes. ibid.
Stalin was brutally rude to Churchill’s face. ibid.
By the time the prime minister left Casablanca fears were mounting about his own health and energy. ibid.
Britain and Churchill must now wage war as the United States determined. By 1944 the Americans were committed to focus everything on a great landing in Normandy. They were surely right that the time had come. It was one of the prime minister’s biggest mistakes that he continued to press the case for the Mediterranean. ibid.
Churchill’s spirits soared at the success of the operation. ibid.
Even as the Allied armies completed the destruction of the Third Reich Churchill’s pleasure was shrouded by his fears for the future of Europe and for the fallen might of the British empire. ibid.
Churchill was voted from office. ibid.
Never had the City of London been so cold or so silent as on that Saturday in January 1965. Winston Churchill: A Giant of the Century, Discovery History 2014
One teacher will go further and say she thought him ‘the meanest child in the world’. ibid.
His father dies ravaged by syphilis at the young age of 46 having never truly loved or acknowledged his son. ibid.
For jumping the Conservative ship he is nicknamed the Blenheim Rat. ibid.
He even to Clementine’s horror learns to fly. ibid.
Gallipoli ... ends with 100,000 Allied dead and 150,000 casualties ... A disaster for which the politicians want Churchill to pay the price. ibid.
Churchill returns to the bosom of the Conservative Party. ibid.
He is responsible for a catastrophic decision – returning the pound sterling to the gold standard. ibid.
‘We seem to be very near the bleak choice between War and Shame. My feeling is that we shall choose Shame and then have War thrown in a little later.’ ibid. Churchill
Sir Winston Churchill was back in St Paul’s at the centre of a magnificent funeral ceremony. No-one who saw it has ever forgotten the farewell the nation gave him. Jeremy Paxman: Churchill: The Nation’s Farewell, BBC 2015
It was Churchill’s genius to find the words that spoke for England at a very very difficult time in its history. ibid.
Much of the remainder of his life was a catalogue of failure. ibid.
His criminal sense of irresponsibility has brought the English people and the British empire to the edge of the precipice. Lord Haw Haw
Winston is always expecting rabbits to be coming out of hats. General Archibald Wavell
He knows no details, has only got half a picture in his mind, talks absurdities and makes my blood boil to listen to his nonsense. General Alan Brooke, chief of staff
Nothing but a miracle can save the military now. And the end cannot be very far off. General Alan Brooke, private memoirs
Planned strategy was not Winston’s strong card. Alan Brooke
He began to abuse Monty because operations were not going faster. And apparently Eisenhower had said he was over cautious. Alan Brooke
At ten o’clock we had a frightful meeting with Winston that lasted till two a.m. It was quite the worse we have had with him. He was very tired. He had tried to recuperate with drink. And as a result he was in a maudlin bad-tempered drunken mood, ready to take offence at anything, suspicious of everybody, and in a highly vindictive mood against the Americans. Alan Brooke
His verbosity and restlessness made unnecessary work, prevented real planning and caused friction. John Colville, private secretary
After his afternoon sleep the PM emerging from beneath the bedclothes and yawning said, voicing his waking thought, ‘The poor chiefs of staff will get very much out of breath in their desire to run away.’ John Colville
I live a very hectic life; most of it is spent trying to prevent stupid things being done. General John Dill, Chief of the Imperial General Staff
I cannot tell you how agitated the PM has made me. What he said about the army tonight I can never forgive. General John Dill
Wherever he is he must be an embarrassment and a liability. General Bernard Montgomery, before D-Day
Before 1940 many had written him off as a failure. Martin Gilbert, Churchill: Renegade and Turncoat, BBC 2015
In 1899 Churchill’s search for action and adventure took him to South Africa to report on the Boar War. ibid.
Churchill became hated by the Suffragettes. ibid.
Churchill believed the General Strike would have to be broken before a settlement could be reached. ibid.
‘We are fighting to save the whole world from Nazi tyranny.’ ibid. Churchill to Commons
The Battle for Norway was a disaster. ibid.
On 10th May 1940 as German forces drove into France, Belgium and Holland, Churchill became prime minister. He was sixty-five. Martin Gilbert, Churchill: Conquer or to Die, BBC 2014
But he knew that Britain could win only if America entered the war. ibid.
In January 1943 Churchill flew to north Africa to greet the victor of Alamein, Bernard Montgomery. Martin Gilbert, Churchill: Beginning of the End
Britain was now master of the north African shores. ibid.
After five years of war, Churchill was with the Allied armies as they crossed the Rhine on into Nazi Germany. Martin Gilbert, Churchill: Never Despair
The world was now dominated by the two superpowers. ibid.
He had been a member of parliament for more than sixty years. ibid.
He had multiple problems. Certainly one of them that haunted him throughout his life was a tendency to recurrent depression. What he called his Black Dog. Professor Jerrold Post, author When Illness Strikes the Leader
I believe there is a profound evidence of narcissism and egocentricity. Professor Jerrold Post
There was an agreement to keep it quiet ... I don’t think really the covering up of his stroke was deceitful. Bill Deedes
The whole conception of attacking Turkey through the Dardanelles was Churchill’s idea ... It was a totally bonkers idea. Professor John Charmley, University of East Anglia
Churchill once back in office shows all the hallmarks of Churchill in office. A desire for immediate action, a desire to get things done, without necessarily considering whether what was being done was the right thing. Professor John Charmley
It is [attacking Germany over the Italian Alps] actually I fear another one of Churchill’s barking mad ideas. Professor John Charmley
Norway must be seen as a pet operation of Churchill’s. Professor Alex Danchev, Keele University
He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle to steady his fellow countrymen and hearten those Europeans upon whom the long dark night of tyranny had descended. Ed Murrow, broadcast 30th November 1954
My darling ... there is danger of you being generally disliked by your colleagues and your subordinates because of your rough, sarcastic, and overbearing manner ... You must find ... an Olympian calm. Clementine Churchill, letter 1940