Winston Churchill (1940–2010)

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. 1964–97)
Luce Danielson (m. 1997–2010)
Relations Winston Churchill (grandfather)
Randolph Churchill (father)
Arabella Churchill (half-sister)
Children 2 sons, 2 daughters
Alma mater Christ Church, Oxford
Winston Churchill's grave at St Martin's Church, Bladon

Winston Spencer-Churchill (10 October 1940 – 2 March 2010), generally known as Winston Churchill,[1][nb 1] was a British Conservative Party politician and a grandson of former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, his namesake.

Early life

Churchill was born at Chequers while his grandfather was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and was educated at Eton College and at Christ Church, Oxford.[2]

Career

Winston (right), his father, and grandfather in the ceremonial robes of the Order of the Garter

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]

Churchill's first attempt to enter Parliament was at the Manchester Gorton by-election in 1967. In spite of the unpopularity of the incumbent Labour Government, he was unsuccessful. 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 and remained a backbencher. His cousin Nicholas Soames is also 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]

Family

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 and granddaughter of Baron Emile Beaumont d'Erlanger.[8] The couple had four children:

Churchill's second marriage, to Luce Danielson, a Belgian-born jewellery maker, lasted from 1997 until his death. His mother's will shared his inheritance with his first wife.

Ancestry

Publications

References

  1. ↑ Churchill's legal surname was Spencer-Churchill: his ancestor George Spencer changed his name to Spencer-Churchill when he became the 5th Duke of Marlborough, but starting with his great-grandfather, Lord Randolph Churchill, his branch of the Spencer-Churchill family has used the name Churchill only in its public life.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Winston Churchill: Tory MP who never emerged from his grandfather's shadow". The Independent (London). 3 March 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  3. ↑ Clement Freud (2007-04-14). "Some questions of interpretation". London: The Times. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  4. ↑ "MP Winston Churchill, grandson of former PM, dies". BBC News. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  5. ↑ "Winston Churchill" (PDF). Newsletter. National Benevolent Fund for the Aged. Summer 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  6. ↑ "Winston Churchill, WWII leader's grandson, dies". London: Guardian. 23 January 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
  7. ↑ "Former Tory MP Winston Churchill dies". London: The Daily Telegraph. 2 March 2010.
  8. ↑ Minnie d'Erlanger Married in London, New York Times, 16 July 1964
  1. ↑ During the period of his prominence as a public figure, he was invariably referred to as Winston Churchill MP, in order to instantly distinguish the living Winston Churchill from the late Prime Minister.

External links

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