WAGING WAR AGAINST THE ODDS

WARTIME LEADERS

Winston Churchill is viewed by most as the strongman who stood up to Hitler. Yet, as Allen Packwood, BA, MPhil (Cantab), FRHistS – a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, and the Director of the Churchill Archives Centre – explains, on becoming Prime Minister the odds were stacked against him.

WINSTON CHURCHILL

Churchill leaving a cabinet meeting on 7 September 1939.
(PA ARCHIVE)

Sir Winston Churchill is an instantly recognisable figure. With his bulldog scowl, his ‘V-for-Victory’ salute, omnipresent cigar and eccentric wardrobe of velvet siren suits and military hats, he cannot be mistaken for anyone else. In the marketing parlance of today, he is a unique brand. His celebrated speeches continue to be quoted and misquoted, and his greatest phrases have become almost ubiquitous.

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