Although one of his more tongue-in-cheek maxims the essence of it conveys something Churchill knew all too well. During his time as First Lord of the Admiralty in the First World War, Churchill oversaw one of Britain’s worst military defeats – the Gallipoli Campaign .

buggering on | English examples in context | Ludwig keeps buggering on | English examples in context | Ludwig

We welcome applications to contribute to UnHerd – please fill out the form below including examples of your previously published work. Throughout history there have been numerous attempts to convey the need to keep strong under pressure – but Churchill, in his lexical wisdom, put it succinctly when he “KBO” (Keep Buggering On). Well, actually he’s spirited away to the family home at Chartwell, without the nation knowing, and the press obligingly keeping schtum (can you imagine?). Here in Kent – and this is where the novelist’s imagination comes in – a wholesome young nurse named Millie Appleyard is employed to try to get him into a fit state to be a statesman again, and hold off the circling vultures. She may be a dramatic device, a foil, but it’s still a touching relationship, the old warhorse and the Yorkshire lass whose family would never have voted for him. She’s his match though, in resolve, and board games, and the poems of AE Housman. What starts off as mutual respect soon becomes genuine affection. No wonder Clemmie gets a bit jealous.Winston Churchill was also an effective statesman and leader because he possessed the attribute of strategic foresight. An example of his keen intuition is found in the aftermath of the Munich Agreement. While Neville Chamberlain proclaimed that its policies of appeasement had brought, “peace in our time,” Winston Churchill complained of the terms. He declared that: a) nothing vital was at stake; b) Czechoslovakia could “have hardly got worse” terms in the agreement; and c) the agreement would ultimately not be successful in preserving Europe’s uneasy peace while the threat of Nazi Germany under Hitler still loomed. 9 World War II would prove his intuition correct. Despite his misgivings, Churchill, “…never doubted that the Western Alliance would defeat Hitler and subsequently Japan,” and his vision was again clear. 10 Another example that showcases Churchill’s strategic foresight is Communist Russia. Churchill had early misgivings about Russia, apart from the ones that he voiced in his famous “Iron Curtain” speech, where he spoke of an iron curtain settling on Eastern Europe. In 1931, Churchill declared in front of a large audience in Brooklyn, New York, that the great struggle of the future would be between English-speaking nations and communism. 11 The Cold War would later prove his prophecy correct. A third example of Churchill’s strategic intuition is shown during his time as First Lord of the Admiralty starting in October 1911. Churchill summed up his approach to British naval power in these words:

CHURCHILL HERITAGE COLLECTION - Conway Stewart

John B. Severance, Winston Churchill: Soldier, Statesman, Artist (New York: Clarion Books, 1996), 17. In association with Churchill Heritage Ltd, Conway Stewart has produced the Churchill Heritage Collection, a series of limited edition writing instruments with designs inspired by the words of the great man himself. “KBO” is the fourth in the series. THE POWER OF PERSEVERANCE Winston Churchill (1874-1965) used his words to inspire a nation under threat from the blitz and worked tirelessly to bring about an allied victory to World War Two. It was his determination and commitment that cemented him as an icon of the 20th Century who continues to inspire people to this day – including us at Conway Stewart where the Churchill and Winston models are named after him. Keep Buggering On” was a rallying thought delivered to both friends and family, and was abbreviated to “KBO” when in polite company. Knowing first hand as a soldier and a leader the dangers of a defeatist mindset and poor moral could do, Churchill would keep the people around him motivated and inspired with his words. THE CHURCHILL CONNECTIONThe loss of Prince Philip is the loss of one of our last links to a generation where such attitudes were widespread. With the fading from the scene of the wartime generation, we are losing something valuable. I wouldn’t call it stoicism, exactly, but rather the sense that there is great value in just getting on with things and not dwelling on your own troubles or problems, and not inflicting them on other people. Winston Churchill, no stranger to genuine mental health struggles, used the acronym KBO, or Keep Buggering On.

Prince Philip embodied the KBO spirit - The Post - UnHerd Prince Philip embodied the KBO spirit - The Post - UnHerd

You are a sad individual Samir, who totally (deliberately) misunderstands. Or maybe your English isn’t as good as you think. Churchill’s words prompted the Labour MP Josiah Wedgwood to say, “That was worth 1,000 guns, and the speeches of 1,000 years.” 7 Churchill’s potent spirit of perseverance and determination is best summed up in one of his own maxims: “We must just KBO.” The initials stood for “Keep Buggering On.” 8 Churchill understood the dangers of defeatism and poor morale as a soldier and leader, so he set the example needed to inspire others around him… and he kept “buggering on.”

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Churchill’s typists were also to find that, however bad his moods could be in dire moments of the war, he always had words of comfort for them and a ready smile-—his “beatific grin,” as Marian Holmes called it. “Don’t mind me,” he would say after an outburst, “it’s not you—it’s the war.” On one occasion, in November1944, finding Marian Holmes and her colleague Elizabeth Layton working in the Hawtrey Room and Chequers without a fire, he commented, “Oh, you poor things. You must light a fire and get your coats. It’s just as well I came in”— and he proceeded to light the fire himself, piling it high with logs. 20 The organization of his wartime premiership was a central feature of Churchill’s war leadership. That organization took several months to perfect, but from his first days as Prime Minister and Minister of Defense he worked to establish it, and to create in the immediate ambit of 10 Downing Street an organization that would give the nation strong and effective leadership. 15 World War II, however, is where Churchill’s personality shines the most. He tirelessly travelled to military positions and installations, conducting inspections, boosting morale, and supporting commanders. He also established a personal friendship with Franklin Delano Roosevelt and maintained strong relations and diplomatic ties with the American Government. Through it all, he was able to maintain a cool assurance of victory and instill confidence in everyone around him.

Churchill: Leader and Statesman - International Churchill Society

In my front room, it – and they – went down very well. Those narky siblings act like a sort of cheese to offset the sweet sentimentality of the Winnie-Millie relationship. Maybe the Marigolds that Winnie hands to Clemmie – a substitute for the words they’ve never been able to exchange about their daughter, Marigold, who died – are a bunch too far. But it was impossible not to be moved by their stoical sorrow. By all of it, in fact, a lovely picture of hope and power and family and growing old. Quality Sunday-evening period drama is not the preserve of the BBC. Shame it clashed with The Night Manager, not that clashing matters any more. Catch up if you missed. Although thought of as a British Bulldog, Churchill was actually called “my sweet pug” by his wife Clementine. In honour of this endearing name engraved on the top of the cap of all the Heritage pens is the iconic sketch of “Pug” a small illustration that Winston often included at the bottom of his correspondence with Clementine. The illustration which features on the cap is taken from a letter sent to Clementine dated 1st August 1909, a facsimile of which accompanies each pen showing his handwriting in all its glory.

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Langworth, Richard M. Churchill by Himself: The Life, Times and Opinions of Winston S. Churchill in his Own Words. New York: Public Affairs, 2008. Below the maxim is an engraved recreation of Churchill’s signature and the mark of pride that each Conway Stewart pen is “Made in Britain”. A British Conservative prime minister in his second term has some delicate international negotiations approaching. The next Conservative prime minister is growing impatient for power, although he does his best to mask his ambition. The Munich Agreement” in Sir Winston Churchill & World War II: Remembering “Their Finest Hour,” High School Summer Study Abroad (Hillsdale: Hillsdale College, 2008), 55.