The extraordinary career of Mr Churchill

Winston Churchill is best known as the war-time Prime Minister who led Britain through survival to victory. Whilst constituting the most celebrated period of his political life, the five years of his premiership in the 1940s represent only a fraction of his overall Parliamentary career.

Churchill was a Member of Parliament for just under 64 years, between 1900 and 1922 and again from 1924 to his retirement in 1964 at the age of 89. During this time he represented five constituencies – Woodford, Epping, Dundee, Manchester North West and Oldham.

Although both his continuous length of service and age on departure are impressive feats, neither are record breakers. The oldest ever serving MP was Francis Knollys, the MP for Reading, who was either 97 or 98 (records being distinctly hazier in the 17^th century) when he died in 1648.

Charles Pelham Villiers holds the prize for the longest continuously-serving MP. He was elected in 1835 and remained an MP continuously for over 62 years until his death on January 16, 1898, aged 96 years 13 days. For contrast, the current Father of the House is Sir Peter Tapsell with 44 years of continuous service.

In a varied political career, Churchill held the office of Prime Minister twice (between 1940 and 1946 and 1951 and 1955), was Chancellor of the Exchequer (between 1924 and 1929), Home Secretary (from 1910 and 1911), President of the Board of Trade (between 1908 and 1910), First Lord of the Admiralty (from 1911 to 1916 and again from 1939 to 1940), Minister of Munitions (in 1917) and  Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Air (between 1919 and 1921) and Secretary of State for the Colonies (from 1921 to 1922).

He was a Conservative MP in 1900 and crossed the floor to become a Liberal MP in 1904. He would cross back again in 1924 to rejoin the Conservative Party, commenting that “anyone can rat, but it takes a certain ingenuity to re-rat”.

Leading from the front

6 June 1944 was D-Day. Operation Neptune saw the Allied forces of the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Free France cross an unusually calm English Channel and begin the invasion of Europe. The Normandy landings saw some of the most intense and brutal fighting of the Second World War as over 150,000 Allied troops landed across five beaches.

Amidst the chaos and confusion, the death and destruction there was little time for anything other than direct military engagement. It is therefore somewhat staggering that in the days leading up to D-Day both King George VI and Prime Minister Winston Churchill made plans to be with the attacking forces on the Normandy beaches.

During their usual lunchtime audience on Tuesday 30 May 1944, Churchill mentioned that he intended to watch the invasion of Normandy from HMS Belfast. The King was enthusiastic, and suggested he would accompany the Prime Minister.

The King’s enthusiasm had diminished by the next day, and was entirely reversed when Sir Alan Lascelles, his Private Secretary, voiced serious concerns over the unnecessary risk. The King set about changing the Prime Minister’s mind, but Churchill was not easily dissuaded. His obstinacy was met with constitutional shadow boxing. As a Minister of the Crown, Churchill could not travel abroad without the King’s consent. But, came the inevitable if infuriating reply, HMS Belfast was a British warship and thus he would technically remain on British territory.

Eventually, news of the plan reached General Eisenhower. Churchill’s request to accompany the invasion fleet was immediately turned down by the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces. The PM shot back that Eisenhower was not in a position to prevent his adventure, responding:

"Since this is true it is not part of your responsibility, my dear General, to determine the exact composition of any ship's company in His Majesty's Fleet by shipping myself as a bona fide member of a ship's complement it would be beyond your authority to prevent my going."

Eventually, the King consigned his frustration to paper and wrote a letter urging Churchill not to undertake the voyage. A combination of threats, pleading and stroking of the PMs ego were ultimately enough to make Churchill back down.

Churchill was the first of the two to make it across the Channel, visiting Normandy on D +6, or 12 June 1944 on what he called his ‘jolly day’. He was followed four days later by the King, whose 16 June 1944 voyage was defended by a flotilla of Royal Navy warships.