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Timeline

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Timeline
1874
1882
1893
1895
1898
1899
1900
1906
1908
1914
1915
1916
1917
1922
1929
1939
1940
1944
1945
1946
1951
1953
1963
1964
1965

1874
Born at Blenheim Palace
On 30 November Winston is born unexpectedly while his parents are staying at the Palace.

1882–1893
Attends boarding school
Winston often spends school holidays at Blenheim under the supervision of his grandmother, the 7th Duchess.

1893
Begins military training
Winston trains to be an army officer at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

1895
Joins the Army
Winston becomes a junior officer in the Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars, a cavalry regiment.

1898
Fights at Battle of Omdurman
In the Sudan, Africa, Winston takes part in the last full cavalry charge made by the British Army.

1899
Escapes from POW camp
During the Boer War in South Africa, Winston’s escape from an enemy prison makes him a national hero.

1900
Elected MP for first time
Winston wins his first seat in Parliament, representing Oldham for the Conservative Party.

1906
First government role
Winston’s political rise is rapid – by 1910 he is Home Secretary.

1908
Gets engaged at Blenheim Palace
Winston proposes to Clementine Hozier in the Temple of Diana in the Palace gardens. They marry a month later.

1914
Leads Navy as First World War begins
As First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston is in charge of the Navy.

1915
Resigns over Gallipoli disaster
Winston resigns from government after his plan to knock Turkey out of the war ends in disaster and retreat.

1916
Commands troops in the trenches
After rejoining the Army, Winston commands a battalion fighting the Germans on the frontline in Belgium.

1917–1929
Back in government
Winston holds a series of senior government posts, including Chancellor of the Exchequer.

1922
Fifth and final child is born
Winston and Clemmie’s children are Diana (born 1909), Randolph (born 1911), Sarah (born 1914), Marigold (born 1918) and Mary (born 1922).

1929 –1939
Out of government
During these ‘wilderness years’, Winston spends much time at Blenheim writing a biography of the 1st Duke of Marlborough.

1939
Leads Navy as Second World War begins
Winston is recalled to government – as First Lord of the Admiralty, he is once again in charge of the Navy.

1940
Becomes Prime Minister
As the threat of a Nazi invasion of Britain looms, Winston is appointed to lead the country.

1944
Leads D-Day invasion planning
Winston draws inspiration from the 1st Duke of Marlborough’s battle tactics over 200 years earlier to plan the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France.

1945
Wins war, but loses election
Despite leading Britain to victory alongside her allies, Winston loses the General Election in July.

1946
Predicts the Cold War
Winston makes a speech in Missouri, USA describing the ‘Iron Curtain’ created by Communist Russia across Europe.

1951–1955
Becomes Prime Minister for second time
Winston is 77 when he takes office. He suffers bad health and eventually resigns.

1953
Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature
Winston wins the highest international prize for writing, for his works of history and biography and his speeches.

1963
Awarded honorary US citizenship
Winston – half American through his mother – is made an honorary American citizen by President John F Kennedy.

1964
Retires from political life
At the age of 89 Winston steps down as an MP after 64 years in politics.

1965
Buried at Bladon, near Blenheim
Winston dies on 24 January, aged 90. He receives the great honour of a full state funeral and is buried in the churchyard at Bladon, near Blenheim Palace.