Winston Churchill is undoubtedly one of the most respected and
best-loved characters the nation has ever known. However, much of how
people view him is based on his leadership during the bleak and dire
times of the Second World War. If it wasn't for him, Britain would
almost definitely have lost the war: there were those in government who
encouraged Churchill to strike a deal with Hitler at the time of the
Dunkirk evacuations, which took place just three weeks after he had been
made Prime Minister, but he stuck resolutely to his guns and said,
'no'.
However, Churchill was never the favourite to take over after Neville
Chamberlain resigned. Indeed, everyone believed Lord Halifax would be
the next Prime Minister, although even he thankfully recognised that
Winston Churchill was the best man for the job, even though King George
VI disagreed.
Yet there was another side to Churchill that is not often spoken of, and
one that led to him making some questionable decisions. Some of these,
it could be argued, were for national security reasons, but others were
not, proving that even the very best are not always as perfect as they
first appear.
