| Winston Churchill | |
|---|---|
| Winston Spencer Churchill in 1997 | |
| Member of Parliament for Davyhulme |
|
| In office 9 June 1983 – 1 May 1997 |
|
| Preceded by | New constituency |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member of Parliament for Stretford |
|
| In office 18 June 1970 – 9 June 1983 |
|
| Preceded by | Ernest Arthur Davies |
| Succeeded by | Tony Lloyd |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Winston Spencer-Churchill 10 October 1940 Chequers, Bucks, England, UK |
| Died | 2 March 2010 (aged 69) Belgravia, London, England, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Minnie Caroline d'Erlanger (m. 1964–1997) Luce Engelen (m. 1997–2010) |
| Relations | Winston Churchill (grandfather) |
| Children | 2 sons, 2 daughters |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Winston Spencer-Churchill (10 October 1940 – 2 March 2010), generally known as Winston Churchill,[1] was a British Conservative Party politician and a grandson of former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
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Churchill was born at Chequers when his grandfather was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford.[2]
Before becoming a Member of Parliament, he was a journalist, notably in the Middle East during the Six Day War, during which time he met numerous Israeli politicians, including Moshe Dayan, and published a book recounting the war.[2]
Later, Churchill became Member of Parliament for the constituency of Stretford, near Manchester, from 1970 until the 1983 general election. Boundary changes which took effect at that election made his seat more marginal (it was subsequently taken by the Labour Party), and he transferred to the nearby Davyhulme constituency, which he represented until the seat was abolished for the 1997 general election. Although well-known by virtue of his family history, he never achieved high office. His cousin Nicholas Soames is a serving Conservative MP.
During his time as a Member of Parliament, Churchill visited Beijing with a delegation of other MPs, including Clement Freud, a grandson of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Freud asked why Churchill was given the best room in the hotel and was told it was because Churchill was a grandson of Britain's most illustrious Prime Minister. Freud responded by saying it was the first time in his life that he had been "out-grandfathered".[3]
He also was the subject of controversy in 1995 when he and his family sold a large archive of his grandfather's papers for £12.5m to Churchill College, Cambridge. The purchase was funded by a grant from the newly established National Lottery.[4]
After leaving Parliament, Churchill was a sought-after speaker on the lecture circuit and wrote many articles in support of the Iraq War and the fight against Islamic terrorism. He also edited a compilation of his grandfather's famous speeches entitled Never Give In. In 2007 he acted as a spokesman for the pressure group UK National Defence Association. He was also involved with the National Benevolent Fund for the Aged, as trustee from 1974 and chair from 1995 to 2010.[5]
Churchill lived in Belgravia, London, where he died on 2 March 2010 from prostate cancer, which he had suffered from for the last two years of his life.[6][7]
Churchill was the son of Randolph Churchill (1911–1968), the only son of Sir Winston Churchill, and of Randolph's wife Pamela Digby (1920–1997), later to become famous as Pamela Harriman. His parents divorced in 1945. His father married June Osborne: their daughter was Arabella Churchill (1949–2007).
Churchill's first marriage, in July 1964, was to Minnie Caroline d'Erlanger, the daughter of the banker Sir Gerard John Regis d'Erlanger. The couple had four children:
Churchill's second marriage, to Luce Engelen, a Belgian-born jewellery maker, lasted from 1997 until his death. His mother's will shared his inheritance with his first wife.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ernest Davies |
Member of Parliament for Stretford 1970–1983 |
Succeeded by Tony Lloyd |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Davyhulme 1983–1997 |
Constituency abolished |