Churchill applied this policy to his duties as First Lord of the Admiralty and set about thoroughly preparing Britain’s fleet for war. He also studied German naval progress, strength, and maneuvers. A mere four years later, World War I broke out, and thanks to Churchill’s wisdom, the British Navy was well prepared for battle. In summary, Churchill possessed exceptional strategic foresight, tempered with a healthy dose of realism. As one observer wrote, “Churchill had great foresight, but he knew the future is mostly unpredictable.” 13 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: Leader and Statesman - International Churchill Society

The last component of Churchill’s remarkable formula for success was his imperturbable personality. Coupled with a dogged determination was a personality that was capable of exuding charm and wit, and that caused people to gravitate toward him. Churchill famously described himself in the following way: “We are all worms but I do believe I am a glow worm.” History shows that he did indeed glow. For example, he was able to maintain a poise in even the most stressful of times: But Churchill didn’t let failure bring him down, instead he worked harder and later he saw that effort come to fruition when he became Prime Minister. 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.

Churchill: Leader and Statesman

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 CONNECTION One of Winston Churchill’s chief attributes as a leader was his capability of inspiring people, regardless of seemingly ominous circumstances. The source of this inspiration was his own character. Churchill perpetually demonstrated enthusiasm, determination, and optimism—if not at all times in private, then at least always in public. One of Churchill’s private secretaries spoke of Churchill’s drive: The Munich Agreement” in Sir Winston Churchill & World War II: Remembering “Their Finest Hour,” High School Summer Study Abroad (Hillsdale: Hillsdale College, 2008), 55. 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.

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

Ronald Golding to Richard M. Langworth, Churchill by Himself (New York: Public Affairs, 2008), 550. 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.” 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).We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. 6 Lovely performances all round: from Romola Garai as ballsy Millie; from Lindsay Duncan as Mrs C – classy, dignified, loyal but weary from the burden of being married to the Greatest Man in the World; and especially from Michael Gambon as the main man, making up for not looking very like much like Churchill by being utterly, screen-owningly mesmeric as an old man refusing to give up. The 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.

BUGGERING | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary BUGGERING | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary

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.

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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. 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