Winston Churchill
(1874–1965)

Winston ChurchillAnecdote...

In the summer of 1941 Sergeant James Allen Ward was awarded the Victoria Cross for climbing out onto the wing of his Wellington bomber 13,000 feet above the Zuider Zee, to extinguish a fire in the starboard engine. Secured only by a rope around his waist, he managed not only to smother the fire but also to return along the wing to the aircraft's cabin. Churchill, an admirer as well as a performer of swashbuckling exploits, summoned the shy New Zealander to 10 Downing Street. Ward, struck dumb with awe in Churchill's presence, was unable to answer the prime minister's questions. Churchill surveyed the unhappy hero with some compassion. "You must feel very humble and awkward in my presence," he said.
"Yes, sir," managed Ward.
"Then you can imagine how humble and awkward I feel in yours," said Churchill.

Last words...

I'm bored with it all.


Quote-worthy...

Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others. —Winston Churchill

Read another Churchill anecdote.


More Information...

READ a short biography of Winston Churchill written by a student. (Don't miss the photo of him as a young military officer.) To learn more about the private side of Churchill, read Winston and Clementine: The Personal Letters of the Churchills, available online from Amazon.com. For transcripts of Churchill's speeches, visit The Churchill Center.