Mr. Churchill himself. I've admired him since I was a child. Here, in his own words, he openly and often humorously discloses his early life experiences. I felt like I was sitting in his study, listening to the great man share his tale with me, as if I were a confidant. It was a fantastic experience. I've enjoyed various Churchill biographies, but this partial autobiography beats anything written by other authors. Churchill narrowly passed the Harrow School entrance exam and he became a pupil there in April 1888. [36] He was not academically brilliant, except in English and History, and his teachers complained that he was unpunctual and careless. [37] He wrote poetry and letters which were published in the school magazine, Harrovian, [38] and won a fencing competition. [39] Likewise, the British government ignored Churchill’s warnings and did all it could to stay out of Hitler’s way. In 1938, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain even signed an agreement giving Germany a chunk of Czechoslovakia – “throwing a small state to the wolves,” Churchill scolded – in exchange for a promise of peace. He entered Harrow with low expectations, a stutter, and a lisp, yet he never let these obstacles overcome his fondness for the English language. xv The master of the school, Robert Somervell, taught English in a way that appealed to Winston. Churchill wrote, “Thus, I got into my bones the essential structure of the ordinary British sentence—which is a noble thing. And when in after years my schoolfellows who had won prizes and distinctions for writing such beautiful Latin poetry had come down to common English, to earn their living or make their way, I did not feel myself at any disadvantage.” xvi Despite his achievements and success in military matters, Churchill later revealed that he would have preferred to skip Harrow altogether. Churchill said, “In all the twelve years I was at school no one ever succeeded in making me write a Latin verse or learn any Greek except the alphabet.” xvii It was likely determined beforehand, though, that the child of Lord Randolph Churchill would not be turned away from Harrow, regardless of his poor exam results.

Above all, however, Churchill hungered for a seat in Parliament. Here too he had received encouragement; a good response to speeches he’d made while on leave in England. An important friend, the Prince of Wales, told him, “Parliamentary and literary life is what would suit you best as the monotony of military life in an Indian station can have no attraction for you . . .”[31] Didn't read the print version. However, the narrator was so good, I'd have to vote for the audio version Churchill had taken the entrance exam for Sandhurst three times before he passed. His final test score was too low for him to be accepted in the Infantry and qualified him only for the Cavalry — a great disappointment to his father, who remarked, 1 ‘In the infantry one has to keep a man; in the cavalry a man and a horse as well.”‘‘Little did he foresee not only one horse, but two official chargers and one or two hunters besides,” Churchill recalled later, “to say nothing of the string of polo ponies!”[6] Interested in British parliamentary affairs, [71] in one letter he declared himself "a Liberal in all but name", but added that he could never endorse the Liberal Party's support for Irish home rule. [72] [73] Instead, he allied himself to the Tory democracy wing of the Conservative Party, and on a visit home gave his first public speech for the Conservative's Primrose League in Bath. [74] [73] Reflecting a mix of reformist and conservative perspectives, he supported the promotion of secular, non-denominational education while opposing women's suffrage, referring to the Suffragettes as "a ridiculous movement". [75]My partiality for Low Church principles which I had acquired from Mrs. Everest led me into one embarrassment. We often attended the service in the Chapel Royal at Brighton. Here the school was accommodated in pews which ran North and South. In consequence, when the Apostles' Creed was recited, everyone turned to the East. I was sure Mrs. Everest would have considered this practice Popish, and I conceived it my duty to testify against it. I therefore stood stolidly to my front. I was conscious of having created a 'sensation.' I prepared myself for martyrdom. However, when we got home no comment of any kind was made upon my behaviour. I was almost disappointed, and looked forward to the next occasion for a further demonstration of my faith. But when it came, the school was shown into different pews in' the Chapel Royal facing East, and no action was called for from any one of us when the Creed was said. I was puzzled to find my true course and duty. It seemed excessive to turn away from the East. Indeed I could not feel that such a step would be justified. I therefore became willy-nilly a passive conformist. In February 1901, Churchill took his seat in the House of Commons, where his maiden speech gained widespread press coverage. [144] [145] He associated with a group of Conservatives known as the Hughligans, [146] [147] although he was critical of the Conservative government on various issues. He condemned the British execution of a Boer military commandant, [148] and voiced concerns about the levels of public expenditure; [149] in response, Prime Minister Arthur Balfour asked him to join a parliamentary select committee on the topic. [150] He opposed increases to army funding, suggesting that any additional military expenditure should go to the navy. [151] [152] This upset the Conservative front bench but gained support from Liberals. [153] He increasingly socialised with senior Liberals, particularly Liberal Imperialists like H. H. Asquith. [153] In this context, he later wrote, he "drifted steadily to the left" of British parliamentary politics. [148] He privately considered "the gradual creation by an evolutionary process of a Democratic or Progressive wing to the Conservative Party", [154] or alternately a "Central Party" to unite the Conservatives and Liberals. [155] In one of these years we paid a visit to Emo Park, the seat of Lord Portarlington, who was explained to me as a sort of uncle. Of this place I can give very clear descriptions, though I have never been there since I was four or four and a half. The central point in my memory is a tall white stone tower which we reached after a considerable drive. I was told it had been blown up by Oliver Cromwell. I understood definitely that he had blown up all sorts of things and was therefore a very great man.

l T- T E rides in the game like heavy cavalry getting XJL into position for the assault. He trots about, keenly watchful, biding his time, a matter of tactics and strategy. Abruptly he sees his chance, and he gathers his pony and charges in, neither deft nor graceful, but full of tearing physical energy — and skillful with it too. He bears down opposition by the weight of his dash, and strikes the ball. Did I say strike? He slashes the ball.”[1] Climax of the year was the Inter-Regimental Polo Tournament at Meerut, a thousand miles north of Bangalore, in March 1897. The reigning champion at that time was the veteran Durham Light Infantry. The tournament was all the 4th Hussars team could think about and Churchill’s letters are filled with prospects for the match. But to the Hussars’ enormous disappointment Madras’ Governor-General Gen. Sir Mansfield Clarke refused the team leave to attend the tournament. “Perhaps,” remarks Sir Winston’s son in the official biography, “he simply thought the 4th Hussars did not stand a chance.”[22] Rhodes James, Robert (1970). Churchill: A Study in Failure 1900–1939. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-02-97820-15-4.

A tribute, join us

There is much here to cheer us non-glow worms. He was, for example, a flat failure at school. Mathematics and languages frustrated him as much as they frustrated you and me (well, me at least). He lost his first election—a local by-election—by 1,300 votes. His first foray in the public arena—a speech excoriating the barriers that had been erected in music halls to separate the sexes—was never delivered. And perhaps most oddly of all, considering his later reputation, he had to learn to like the taste of whiskey.