The British leader, author, and soldier Sir Winston Churchill passed away on January 24, 1965, at the age of 90. He was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Since Edward Carson’s state funeral in 1935, his was the first state funeral in the UK for a non-royal family member. Prior to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on September 19, 2022, it was the last state funeral.
Four days were required for the formal funeral.
Twelve years prior to Churchill’s passing, Operation Hope Not, which would plan the funeral, got under way. It was started after Churchill suffered a stroke in 1953, during his second tenure as the British prime minister during World War II. The plan was released on January 26, 1965, two days after Churchill’s passing. This was after multiple adjustments due to Churchill’s protracted living (mostly because “the pallbearers kept dying,” remarked Lord Mountbatten).
Early Life
Churchill was born on 30 November 1874 at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. He was a direct descendant of the 1st Duke of Marlborough and his father was a Conservative MP. Churchill was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Queen’s Own Hussars regiment, based at Aldershot. Eager to witness military action, he used his mother’s influence to get himself posted to a war zone. Based in India, he began a self-education project, reading Plato, Edward Gibbon and Charles Darwin. He wrote his first book, The Story of the Malakand Field Force, which received positive reviews.
Writing was his main safeguard against recurring depression, which he referred to as his “black dog”. In 1899, Winston Churchill sailed to South Africa as a journalist for the Morning Post. He was among the first British troops to fight in both the Second Boer War and the Anglo-Boer War. After his train was derailed by Boer shelling, he was captured as a POW and interned in Pretoria.
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When did Winston Churchill die?
Since 1949, Winston Churchill had experienced numerous strokes. He suffered his final stroke on January 15, 1965; he never fully recovered and died nine days later. On January 24, 1965, at 8:35 am, Lord Moran, his physician, made the announcement in his London home at 28 Hyde Park Gate.
Death and state funeral of Winston Churchill
State funerals are typically given to royalty, although Churchill received one as well. Four days were required for the formal funeral. The last state funeral held before to Churchill occurred in 1935 for Lord Carson, an Irish politician and judge.
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coffin lined in lead
British royals have a custom of being interred in lead-lined caskets because they help preserve the body for up to a year. It is possible to seal an airtight coffin with a lead liner, which slows down the body’s decomposition.
Marriage and Children
In September 1908, Churchill married Clementine Hozier. They had been together for 57 years. Churchill reportedly had a brief romance with Doris Castlerosse in the 1930s, according to Colville, however Andrew Roberts disputes this. Churchill was conscious of the burden that his political job had on his wife.
Diana, the Churchills’ first child, was born in July 1909; Randolph, their second child, was born in May 1911. Their fourth child, Marigold, was born in November 1918, and their third child, Sarah, was born in October 1914. Marigold was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery after passing away in August 1921 from infection of the neck. Her cenotaph still stands in Kensal Green, despite the fact that her remains were transferred to Bladon churchyard in 2019 to be with the rest of her family.
The Churchills’ final child, Mary, was born on September 15, 1922. The Churchills purchased Chartwell later that month, and they lived there until Winston’s passing in 1965. Jenkins claims that while Churchill was a “enthusiastic and devoted parent,” he also had unrealistic expectations for his kids.
Cultural depictions
Churchill has been the subject of many biographies, but some of the most well-known ones are those by Addison, Gilbert, Jenkins, and Rhodes James. Professor David Freeman identified 62 total publications published between the end of the 20th century and 2012–2013 for the International Churchill Society, eliminating books written in languages other than English.
On November 30, 1954, Churchill’s 80th birthday, the joint Houses of Parliament gave him a full-length portrait of himself by Graham Sutherland at a formal ceremony in Westminster Hall. It is said that Clementine and Churchill detested it, and she later had it destroyed.
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Churchill has seen numerous stage and movie adaptations. The Gathering Storm (2002), starring Albert Finney as Churchill and Vanessa Redgrave as Clementine; Young Winston (1972), directed by Richard Attenborough, starring Simon Ward in the title role with Anne Bancroft and Robert Shaw playing his parents; Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981), co-written by Martin Gilbert, starring Robert Hardy as Churchill and Siân Phillips as Clementine; and Into the Storm (2009), starring Brenda Strong. In The Crown, John Lithgow portrayed Churchill (2016–2019). Major honours were given to Finney, Gleeson, Oldman, and Lithgow for their portrayals of Churchill.
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