Speaker Phil Evans talked to Bishopsteignton Probus Club about Young Winston Churchill

Phil Evans, from Paignton Probus Club, gave an amusing and very interesting talk to Bishopsteignton Probus Club about the “Young Winston Churchill”, covering the period from his birth to the end of World War One.

Churchill was born in 1874 at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. His father was Lord Randolph Churchill, whose wife Jenny was an American heiress and “great beauty”. Like most rich aristocrats at that time, Winston’s parents did not spend much time looking after their children, leaving the task to nannies and tutors.

Winston was definitely not an academic child, gaining poor grades at Harrow School but with a real interest in militarism, leading to him joining the Royal Cavalry in 1895. He was also a reporter and author, having written more than Shakespeare. He was a good leader and was very courageous, clearly loving the action, fighting and polo associated with his time in the army. During the Boer War, he was captured, but later escaped, got to Mozambique and returned to England as a 25-year old hero who became a Conservative MP. However, after four years he defected to the Liberal Party, where he rose rapidly, becoming Home Secretary and later as First Lord of the Admiralty, he played a major role in the Great War.

Attached photo: Probus Club member Roger Langley (left) thanked the speaker, Phil Evans.