10 facts about Winston Churchill

Collect • Great Britons

Sir Winston Churchill lived to the age of 90, accomplishing many feats and achievements during his lifetime. Most of us will know Churchill as the British prime minister renowned for leading the nation to victory during the Second World War, but that is just one aspect of this great stateman’s story. His life and work are well documented, and too vast for a single article, so here we explore ten interesting facts about Sir Winston Churchill.

Winston Churchill

1. Winston Churchill was an Accomplished Artist

One of the more well-known facts about Churchill is that he was an accomplished artist. He found painting a therapeutic hobby and was encouraged to continue with his hobby, which he began in his 40s, after winning his first amateur prize for the piece titled Winter Sunshine, Chartwell, a bright depiction of his Kentish home. Churchill became a prolific artist, creating more than 550 paintings over a 48-year period.  

2. The ‘Greatest’ Briton, the ‘British Bulldog’, 
was Half American 

Winston Churchill was born to Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill. His father, Randolph Churchill, was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, whilst his mother, Jennie Jerome, was an American socialite. In a nationwide poll conducted by the BBC in 2002, which included more than a million voters, Churchill was voted the greatest Briton of all time, yet he was also the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States. 

3. Winston Churchill Received a Nobel Prize 

Winston Churchill was awarded The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for “his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values”. He is the only British Prime Minister to have won the Nobel Prize in Literature since its inception in 1901.

4. Churchill Served in the UK Parliament During the Reigns of Six Monarchs 

Winston Churchill’s time in Parliament came to an end on 6 April 1955. He served in the UK Parliament for almost 55 years, having begun his political career at the 1900 general election as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Oldham. His political tenure spanned the reigns of Queen Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II, the latter of whom became Britain’s longest-reigning monarch in 2015.  

Churchill

5. Winston Churchill Served as Prime Minister Twice 

Winston Churchill held various roles throughout his time in office as a politician, including the First Lord of the Admiralty and Chancellor of the Exchequer, which also made Churchill the Master of the Mint. However, he is best known for serving as British prime minister, a role he held twice from 10 May 1940 to 26 July 1945, then again from 26 October 1951 to 6 April 1955. His first stint as prime minister took place during the Second World War, in which he cemented his legacy as a great wartime leader. 

6. The First Known use of ‘OMG’ was in a 
Letter to Winston Churchill 

The Oxford English Dictionary credits John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, for being the first to use the common abbreviation ‘OMG’, which means ‘Oh my God’, in a letter he wrote to Winston Churchill on 9 September 1917. Fisher wrote, ‘I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis—O.M.G. (Oh! My God!)—Shower it on the Admiralty!!’ 

7. Winston Churchill is the Only Prime Minister 
to Enter the Music Charts 

Winston Churchill has in fact entered the music charts twice. He first charted in 1965, shortly after his death, with a collection of his most famous speeches titled ‘The Voice Of’. He then charted again, entering the album chart for a second time with ‘Reach For The Skies’ by The Central Band of the Royal Air Force, a record marking the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. 

Churchill

8. Winston Churchill had a Speech Impediment

Winston Churchill is best known for his speeches, of which there are many, but a fact that may surprise many is that Winston Churchill had a speech impediment, which meant he had difficulty pronouncing the letter ‘s’. 

9. Winston Churchill was a Prisoner of War

Winston Churchill is well known for his contribution to the First World War and the Second World War in particular. A lesser-known fact is that he was actually a prisoner of war during the Boer War. In 1899, Churchill travelled to South Africa as a newspaper correspondent to cover the Boer War between British and Dutch Settlers. He was ambushed and captured by enemy soldiers but later made a great escape and returned to Britain a hero.  

Churchill

10. He is the First Statesman to be Honoured on Three Occasions on British Coins 

Few can claim to have been commemorated on a coin. Themes and designs for coins are carefully selected by The Royal Mint Advisory Committee (RMAC) and each commemorative theme must carry significant weight to be considered. It is rare for a statesman to be commemorated on a coin but the honour was bestowed upon Winston Churchill upon his passing in 1965. 

Such was Winston Churchill’s contribution and legacy that 50 years later, his memory was honoured again on UK coins in 2015. To mark the 150th anniversary of his birth, we struck a commemorative coin in 2024 that features a portrait of Churchill as a young man, which makes the former Master of the Mint the first statesman to be honoured on three British coins. 

 

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