Winston Churchill and His Early Years.

 I've been reading a 2-part biography about Winston Churchill called The Last Lion.  I have just finished the first part which covers his birth through to Winston Churchills involvement in World War 1.  He was responsible for much and lead an amazing life. 

Winston Churchill had an American mother, and his father was a British Lord.  He was sent to boarding school and rarely saw his parents during his school years.  Once he graduated from school he went into a Military Academy. 

Winston Churchill entered military service and fought in the Boer wars, both as a soldier and as a newspaper correspondent.  He was captured and escaped.  His father was in politics and Winston Churchill soon followed in his footsteps.

Upon the death of his father of syphilis his mother was running out of money and had to retire his beloved nanny while he was still at school.  Winston Churchill was partially responsible for the introduction of welfare benefits.  I those days everyone worked for the Lords or didn't survive, so welfare was introduced to help ease the social class system.

When Briton declared war on Germany at the beginning of World War 1, Winston Churchill became Lord of the Admiralty and was in charge of the British Navy.  When Turkey entered the war they guarded a straight of water called the Dardanelles with forts along it.  They Started sinking all the ships that used the straight.   

Briton needed the Dardanelles to get aid from Russia, so Winston Churchill devised a plan to sent Warships to it to destroy the Forts.  The Turks laid sea mines, which the mine sweepers missed, and the allied navy lost several ships and had to abandon the plan.  Briton came up with a plan for a land invasion of Turkey, which also failed.

Winston Churchill lost his Job because of this and asked for a position in the Army. He got a commission as an officer and was sent to the front.  After the war he got back into politics and continued with his journalism and art.