Difference between revisions of "Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill"
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==First Lord of the Admiralty== | ==First Lord of the Admiralty== | ||
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| + | Roskill seems to have convinced himself that Churchill was opposed to the separation of the Naval Wing from the Royal Flying Corps, claiming, "Churchill set his face firmly against such a step,"<ref>Roskill. ''Hankey''. '''I'''. p. 185.</ref> putting a lot of faith his statement before the C.I.D. that "he had always looked on the Naval and Military Wings as branches of one great service."<ref>C.I.D. SAS.2 of 25 June, 1914. The National Archives. ADM 1/8621.</ref> A week after making this little speech, Churchill sanctioned the renaming of the Naval Wing to the Royal Naval Air Service. Quite how Roskill managed to reconcile these two events in his head is hard to fathom, as it certainly doesn't show in his published work. | ||
==Assessment== | ==Assessment== | ||
Revision as of 06:22, 4 January 2011
SIR Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, K.G., O.M., C.H., T.D., F.R.S., P.C., P.C. (Can) (30 November, 1874 – 24 January, 1965) was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He served as First Lord of the Admiralty from 1911 to 1915. He was forced from office following the formation of the First Coalition government.
Note: there are numerous books and internet articles on the life of Churchill. This fact, coupled with the strong dislike held by one of the editors for him, means that this article on Churchill will focus only on his first term as First Lord of the Admiralty.
Contents
First Lord of the Admiralty
Roskill seems to have convinced himself that Churchill was opposed to the separation of the Naval Wing from the Royal Flying Corps, claiming, "Churchill set his face firmly against such a step,"[1] putting a lot of faith his statement before the C.I.D. that "he had always looked on the Naval and Military Wings as branches of one great service."[2] A week after making this little speech, Churchill sanctioned the renaming of the Naval Wing to the Royal Naval Air Service. Quite how Roskill managed to reconcile these two events in his head is hard to fathom, as it certainly doesn't show in his published work.
Assessment
Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911 with a clear remit - to institute a General Staff in the Royal Navy. Nearly three years later upon the outbreak of war this had still not been done.
Wealth at death; £304,044: probate, 9 Feb, 1965.
Footnotes
Bibliography
- Churchill, Randolph S. (1967). Winston S. Churchill: Young Statesman 1910–1914. II. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395075262.
- Churchill, Randolph S. (1969). Winston S. Churchill: Companion Part 3 1911–1914. II. London: William Heinemann Ltd. ISBN 0-434-13008.
- Gilbert, Martin (1971). Winston S. Churchill: The Challenge of War 1914–1916. III. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395131537.
- Hough, Richard (1987). Former Naval Person: Churchill and the Wars at Sea. London: George Weidenfeld & Nicolson Limited. ISBN 0-297-79018-8.
- Roskill, Stephen (2004). Churchill and the Admirals. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1-84415-104-2.
| Political Offices | ||
| Preceded by Reginald McKenna |
First Lord of the Admiralty 1911 – 1915 |
Succeeded by Arthur J. Balfour |
