Winston Churchill was born on the 30th November 1874. Most people will remember him as the Prime Minister who led Britain to victory during World War Two. But what else do you know about this remarkable man? Here are five facts that you might find interesting.
Chart Success
Winston Churchill is the only Prime Minister to have broken into the UK album charts, not once, but twice. The first occasion came in 1965, under the Decca record label, with an album called “The Voice of Winston Churchill”, which was a collection of his most famous speeches. It reached number six in the album charts.
The second occasion was in 2010 with an album called “Reach For The Skies”. Performed by the RAF Central Band, it was a rousing selection of Churchill’s World War Two speeches set to music. It entered the charts at number four.
His voice also featured at the beginning of the band Iron Maiden’s hit ‘Aces High’ in 1984, which told the story of an RAF pilot in a dogfight during the Battle of Britain.
Prisoner of War
In 1899, Winston Churchill was a newspaper correspondent working for The Morning Post. He was sent to cover the Boer War in South Africa. Shortly after his arrival he accompanied a scouting expedition on an armoured train. The train was ambushed by the Boers, and Churchill was captured and imprisoned.
During the night of 12th December 1899, Churchill scaled a fence and made a break for freedom. He then navigated 300 miles through enemy territory, hiding by day and travelling by night. A coal mine manager called John Howard took Churchill in, and smuggled him onto a freight train that took him to freedom in Portuguese East Africa.
The following summer Churchill helped liberate the 180 soldiers remaining in the prison that Churchill escaped from. He returned to Britain that summer as a hero.
Trouble Speaking
Winston Churchill was one of the greatest public speakers of modern times, with his speeches famously rousing a nation during the Second World War.
It may seem incredible then, that Churchill grew up with a speech impediment; pronouncing “S” as “Sh”. He was advised by an American masseuse that his tongue was “restrained by a ligament than nobody else has.”
Churchill persevered, and he practiced and rehearsed his speeches, stating that he would eventually become a great public speaker saying: “My impediment is no hinderance”.
Prolific Art
Although Winston Churchill did not begin painting until he was in his Forties, he became an accomplished artist, and painted over 500 works over a 48-year period.
Although he never aspired to create masterpieces, stating he merely painted for pleasure, an exhibition of 105 of Churchill’s paintings went on display at Sotheby’s in London in 2014, for just two weeks, and attracted 12,000 people.
Nobel Prize
Since its inception in 1901, Winston Churchill is the only British Prime Minister to ever win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
It was not just for his writing, but also for his powerful speeches, that reached the hearts and minds of so many people all over the world.
He was awarded the accolade in 1953, ‘for his mastery of historical and biographical description, as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values’.
A stunning Churchill crown coin can be found in the Britain’s Last Pre-Decimal Final Year-Date Heritage Set, which you can view HERE.