| Winston Churchill (1874-1965) | |
| Wartime Prime Minister | |
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 Winston Churchill and US naval chiefs at Greenwich. © NMM |
Holding almost all of the great offices of state during his long political career.
Being extremely fond of brandy and cigars.
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| Hay's Wharf showing crane jibs. © NMM |
In January 1965, after a memorial service at St Paul’s Cathedral, Churchill's coffin was taken to Tower Pier. There it was placed on the Havengore, which carried it upstream through the heart of London.
As his coffin passed Hay’s Wharf, dockers lowered their crane jibs as a salute.
His contribution to the war was rewarded with a string of decorations, including an honorary US citizenship.
In 1953 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
As well as his many political achievements, he wrote an impressive number of publications including the multi-volume The History of the English Speaking Peoples and The History of the Second World War.
In 2002, he was voted in a BBC poll as the greatest Briton of all time.
| 1874 | Born at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, son of a prominent Conservative politician, Lord Randolph Churchill. |
| 1895 | Attended the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, joining the Fourth Hussars. |
| 1895-1898 | He saw action on the Indian north-west frontier and in the Sudan taking part in the Battle of Omdurman (1898). |
| 1900 | Ambushed during the Boer war while reporting for the 'Morning Post' newspaper, but he escaped. |
| 1900 | Became Conservative MP for Oldham. |
| 1904 | Churchill decided to join the Liberal Party. |
| 1906 | Elected MP for North West Manchester. |
| 1910 | Appointed Home Secretary. |
| 1911 | Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty, where he helped modernise the navy. |
| 1912 | He set up the Royal Naval Air Service. |
| 1917 | Appointed as Minister of Munitions. |
| 1919-1921 | Acted as Secretary of State for War and Air. |
| 1924 | Became Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Conservative government. |
| 1940 | Became Prime Minister, leading his country to victory in the Second World War. |
| 1945 | Lost power in the post-war general election. |
| 1951 | Elected Prime Minister again at the age of 77. |
| 1955 | Ill-health forced his retirement from politics. |
| 1965 | Dies and is honoured with a state funeral that included a procession along the Thames. |
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