Difference between revisions of "Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill"

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{{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.
 
{{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.''
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''Note: there are numerous books and internet articles on the life of Churchill.  This article on Churchill will focus only on his first term as First Lord of the Admiralty.''
  
==First Lord of the Admiralty==
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==Appointment as First Lord of the Admiralty==
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 +
==Reconstitution of the Board==
  
===Royal Naval Air Service===
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==War Staff==
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 in Churchill's 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.
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==Assessment==
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==Reorganisation of Fleets==
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.
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'''Wealth at death;''' £304,044: probate, 9 Feb, 1965.
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==Resignation of Bridgeman==
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==Canadian Naval Aid Bill==
 +
 
 +
==Argument over Names of Ships==
 +
 
 +
==Threat of the Board Resigning==
 +
 
 +
==Royal Naval Air Service==
 +
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 in Churchill's statement before the C.I.D. in June, 1914, 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 and conclude that Churchill was "firmly against such a step" is unclear.
 +
 
 +
==Mobilisation & War==
 +
 
 +
==Resignation of Battenberg==
 +
 
 +
==Fall==
 +
 
 +
==Assessment==
 +
Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911 with a clear remit - to institute the equivalent of a General Staff in the Royal Navy.  An Admiralty War Staff was created at the beginning of 1912, but its lack of executive authority and Churchill's domineering personality stunted its development.  Far too many historians have blamed the staff's failings on the Navy's officer corps, when the responsibility and the fault lies clearly with Churchill.
  
 
==Footnotes==
 
==Footnotes==

Revision as of 13:10, 28 January 2012

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 article on Churchill will focus only on his first term as First Lord of the Admiralty.

Appointment as First Lord of the Admiralty

Reconstitution of the Board

War Staff

Reorganisation of Fleets

Resignation of Bridgeman

Canadian Naval Aid Bill

Argument over Names of Ships

Threat of the Board Resigning

Royal Naval Air Service

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 in Churchill's statement before the C.I.D. in June, 1914, 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 and conclude that Churchill was "firmly against such a step" is unclear.

Mobilisation & War

Resignation of Battenberg

Fall

Assessment

Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911 with a clear remit - to institute the equivalent of a General Staff in the Royal Navy. An Admiralty War Staff was created at the beginning of 1912, but its lack of executive authority and Churchill's domineering personality stunted its development. Far too many historians have blamed the staff's failings on the Navy's officer corps, when the responsibility and the fault lies clearly with Churchill.

Footnotes

  1. Roskill. Hankey. I. p. 185.
  2. C.I.D. SAS.2 of 25 June, 1914. The National Archives. ADM 1/8621.

Bibliography

  • Churchill, Randolph S. (1966). Winston S. Churchill: Youth, 1874-1900. Volume I. London: William Heinemann Ltd.
  • Churchill, Randolph S. (1967). Winston S. Churchill: Young Statesman, 1910–1914. Volume II. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395075262.
  • Churchill, Randolph S. (1969). Winston S. Churchill: Companion, Part 3, 1911–1914. Volume II. London: William Heinemann Ltd. ISBN 0-434-13008.
  • Gilbert, Martin (1971). Winston S. Churchill: The Challenge of War, 1914–1916. Volume III. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395131537.
  • Gilbert, Martin. (1972). Winston S. Churchill: Companion, Part 1, Documents, July 1914–April 1915. Volume III. London: William Heinemann Ltd. ISBN 0-434-13012-5.
  • 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.

Papers


Political Appointments
Preceded by
Reginald McKenna
First Lord of the Admiralty
1911 – 1915
Succeeded by
Arthur J. Balfour