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Remembering
Sir Winston
At 2.30am on 10 May 1940, Germany commenced the invasion
of Western Europe. On the same day Sir Winston Churchill was
made Prime Minister of Great Britain. He was by this time 64 years
old and many thought his career had come to a close.
After World War One, he was left to shoulder much of the blame
for the disastrous Gallipoli campaign and by the 1930s Churchill’s
repeated warnings to the Government about the dangers of
German nationalism fell on deaf ears. However, the arrival of
World War Two was to bring out Churchill’s greatest strengths and
finest moments.
The pressure on Churchill at this time must have been immense.
By the end of May 1940, the Netherlands and Belgium had
surrendered and France appeared close to capitulation. The Soviet
Union had signed a non-aggression pact with Germany. The British
Empire stood alone.
Recalling the cost of World War One, many in the British
Government encouraged Churchill to negotiate a peace settlement
with Germany and Churchill had to convince his war cabinet and
outer cabinet of the dangers of this. And convince them he did,
knowing that to enter into a negotiation with the German
Government of that time would not be a negotiation at all.
The Winston Churchill Memorial
Trust was formed in April 1965
to perpetuate and honour the memory
of Sir Winston Churchill
On 4 June 1940, Churchill was to give one of his most famous
speeches to the House of Commons declaring that “…we shall fight
on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall
fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we
shall never surrender...”
As well as a great war-time leader
and statesman, Churchill also had a
strong social conscience and was able
to achieve improvements in working
conditions and many other reforms.”
Churchill’s strength and encouragement were clearly conveyed
around the Commonwealth. By the time of his death in 1965 he
was clearly still strong in the Australian collective memory.
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was formed to perpetuate
and honour the memory of Churchill. The fund-raising that was
held on 28 February 1965 together with a number of donations
from Government and other organisations raised an astonishing
$2.2M pounds. Today, with the help of sponsors and bequests the
Trust holds over $100M and in 51 years the Trust has been able to
award more than 4,000 Fellowships.
As well as a great war-time leader, Churchill also had a strong
social conscience and was able to achieve improvements in
working conditions in shops and coal-mines. He also supported
other reforms including the establishment of sickness and
unemployment benefits and strove successfully reduce the
number of juveniles in prison.
The Churchill Fellowships that the Churchill Trust offers today are
awarded to Australians who, like Churchill, are innovative, filled
with a spirit of determination, and who possess a strong ethos
of wanting to benefit the community rather than themselves as
individuals.
It is to be hoped that, with perpetual memorials like The Winston
Churchill Memorial Trust, Sir Winston Churchill will never be
forgotten.
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