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Journal Entries
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April 16th 1888 Tomorrow I will go to a boarding school called Harrow School. It is a school near London. Between now and when I was born in 1874 in Dublin, Ireland I went to two different schools. My father Randolph Churchill, son of the Duke of Marlborough and my mother Jennie Jerome decided to send me to St. Georges School when I was 7. I was really unhappy because I was to go away from home a few weeks at a time to learn lessons from masters. All I wanted was to play with my magic lantern and my toy soldier army and ride my donkey. But all that changed. I could also rarely see my beloved Nanny Ms. Everest who has been like a mother to me. Because of my unhappiness I was a rebellious, independent student and performed poorly at school. In 1884 I went to Misses Thompson`s Prepatory School. There I learned about interesting subjects French, poetry history and started horse riding and swimming. My dad says they will send my 3 year old brother John to Harrow School too when he grows up. I am really curious as to where my military career takes me. December 30th 1899 While I was in Harrow School, I joined the Harrow Rifle Corps which started my military carrier. I finished school when in 1893. After two failed attempts I finally passed an exam to join the Royal Military College. There we learned about war tactics, mapmaking, military law, drill, gymnastics and other war related subjects. I found the school very exciting and entertaining. And I graduated 20th in a class of 150 people. But sadly, my father died at the time of my graduation. At that year I joined the Fourth Hussars and went to Cuba to see the Spanish put down a rebellion. I went to Sudan to take part in the Battle of Omdurman in 1898. The following year I left the army and started to work for the Morning Post as a war correspondent. I went to report on the Boer war in South Africa in 1899. But I was captured by enemy scouts and sent to Prison. After a few weeks, I escaped when the prison guards had turned their backs and jumped on a train. I went to Mr. Howard`s (manager of the Transvaal Collieries) home and he helped me return home. Now I am going to write yet another book about my military experiences overseas. I also am thinking of joining politics and following my father’s tracks soon. January 23rd 1909 When I returned home from the Boer War, I decided to leave the military for a while and pursue a political career. In 1900 I became a Member of Parliament in the Conservative Party for the town of Oldham. After 4 years I decided that my views didn’t match those of the party and so I resigned. But that wasn’t the end of my political life. I joined the Liberty Party and a year after they won the National Election. At first I was asked to become under-secretary of State. After 3 years of hard work, they began to appreciate my dedication and efficiency, so I was promoted to the President of the Board of Trade, my current position. As soon as I was promoted, I began to think of how I could improve this country with new reforms and innovations. I introduced the first minimum wage, made several reforms on the prison system and I helped pass the Peoples Budget law. It is a law that imposes more taxes on the rich t helps the poor. I did it besides a lot of negative responses because I believe in social justice. But politics wasn’t the only thing I worked on last year. I married a beautiful woman, Clementine Ogilvy. And we are having a child very soon. August 24th 1912 After my successful career in Politics, I was promoted to The First Lord of The Admiralty just last year. My duty was to help improve the quality of life for the British people. But now my duty is the defense of this great island country. I have noticed the significant naval rearmament of the German Empire and realized that I had to work diligently to strengthen up the British Navy. And so I campaigned in the Cabinet for the largest naval expenditure in the history of Great Britain. My first step was of course, to innovate and modernize. I ordered that the production of coal-fired engine ships be stopped and for oil-fired engines to be built. After improving existing ships and building new ones I set up the Royal Navy Air Service. I am keen on improving our military because tensions are high in Europe. And if a war ever started we would side with France against Germany. I still hope that day may never come and the navy I worked so hard on will never see actual combat. December 30th 1915 As I predicted, a war in Europe started a year ago. And my plan of expanding the British Navy was praised by everyone. I was really excited to serve my country and lead it to victory against the Central powers, but things went terribly wrong. At the start of this year I devised a plan to attack the Gallipoli Peninsula. Hundreds of thousands of Australians and New Zealanders would take control of the Gallipoli Peninsula with the help of the Royal Navy. Then we could invade the Ottoman Empire and force them into submission. It seemed like a brilliant plan. And if I succeeded we would shorten the war and drastically increase our chances of winning. But I underestimated the strength of the Turks and the difficulties of an amphibious attack. After 8 months of fighting and 250 thousand casualties the armies are retreating. Needless to say, my reputation is ruined. And I have been reassigned to a meaningless post, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. But I will not give up. I refuse to accept that all the years I spent with the government and military were for nothing. I will regain my reputation and position by working hard. I am volunteering to lead a British Battalion on the Western Front. That might be a good first step for my recovery. May 10th 1940 This is a pretty big day for me. I am now the President and the Minister of Defense of the United Kingdom. A Second World War has started last year. The failure of President Chamberlain to foresee the war, unlike me, and his passivity along with the defeat in Norway left him no choice but to resign. King George VI asked me to be the president and I gladly accepted. I spent the last few years warning everyone of Hitler and urging them to take action but none of them did. And now they see that I was right. I know how people are tired of war and already are low on morale because they fear it will be as bad as the last war. I am sure that in this war we will suffer a lot more than we did last time. But we must assure victory at all costs. We must stop the Nazi Tyranny and to do that we must be strong, willing and brave. No matter how hopeless it seems I will tell the people that we must fight on for the future of the entire world. I will give courage to the British people with a speech tomorrow. And I have also just received word that the Germans have begun their offensive. The war has finally come to Western Europe. June 25th 1940 Well things did not go as well as I hoped they would in my first two months in office. France has fallen in a matter of just weeks. Although nearly all of the British Expeditionary Force has been evacuated just in time with my orders, the German triumph in France was a big blow to the people’s morale. And I expect the Battle of Britain is about to begin very soon. I will address the British people with a speech to ignite their spirits and declare total war. Because Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. But if we can stand up to him, all Europe will be saved and peace will be restored once again. But if we fail, all that we have worked for and loved will be destroyed. We shall defend our country whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the air, we shall fight on the streets and we shall never surrender. And for a thousand years from now people will look up to us and say that this was our finest hour. June 5th 1944 In the past four years we have fought hard and never lost hope, even when the Germans were bombing our fine cities day by day and destroying our ships to try and starve us. We were all alone against these fascists, but the tides have turned. Now the United States, Soviet Union and many other countries stand with us against Nazi Germany. We have survived what I believe was the hardest part of the war. Now we are going to take the fight to the Germans and liberate Western Europe. Tomorrow a massive allied army will invade Normandy in the largest amphibious attack ever. I was skeptical about this plan due to my failures in Gallipoli. But now I have erased all my doubts and am full of confidence. We are stronger and have been preparing for this for 2 years now. Tomorrow with our mighty army we will teach the Germans a lesson and save our defeated allies. I am filled with anticipation of the moment I tell the British People that the war will soon come to an end. May 9th 1945 This morning I have announced the unconditional surrender of all German air, sea and land forces in Europe. After 6 long years of conflict, the war in Europe has ended just a few hours ago. I was filled with a huge excitement as I announced the news. I felt a sense of accomplishment. I think that I have achieved what I promised I would when I came to office 5 years ago. But I still have big worries. The war against Japan is still going on. And now that Nazi Germany is over, so is our alliance with the Soviet Union. They have liberated many eastern countries from the Germans. I fear that those countries will now be ruled by another brutal dictator. During the Yalta conference in February I trusted my faith in Stalin. He agreed to allow countries to have democratic elections, but I suspect that he will instead infect them with communism. But I think that I should look on the bright side. The worst part is over. There is no chance the Russians will be as bad as Nazis. March 6th 1946 As I have foreseen an ıron curtain has descended across the continent of Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I call the Soviet sphere. They are being ruled by communist parties which are mere puppets of the Russians. There is no true democracy and freedom left in those places. I have addressed the entire western people with a speech yesterday, in Westminster College, USA. Sadly a ‘’ Cold War’’ has started. . The people and I did everything in our hand to save Europe from a ruthless dictator. And we certainly didn`t fight so that another dictator who wants to control Europe takes Hitler`s place. I may not be president any more, yet I will do everything in my power to bring the democratic western countries together to form an alliance to stop the expansion of communism. November 26th 1953 This has been a very great year for me personally. A few months ago Queen Elizabeth made me a knight. And yesterday I have won a Nobel Prize. I was nominated for the categories of peace and literature. I expected to win the Nobel Prize for Peace but I was surprised when they told me that I won the Literature award. It`s not because I`m a bad writer or anything but I am more associated with peace than literature. The reason I won was my mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values. I guess they read my two books, ‘’The Second World War’’ and ‘’A History of the English Speaking Peoples’’ very well. Sadly I couldn`t attend the ceremony due to my poor health. My physical and mental health is getting worse as each day passes. I am very happy to once again be the President of Great Britain, but I fear I will have to resign if I keep getting worse. It is affecting my capabilities to work. January 16th 1965 Yesterday I have suffered a major stroke. It is the twelfth stroke I had since 1949 and by far the worst. As I feared my illness got worse by the day. I had to resign my presidency 10 years ago, and last year I left the Parliament because I was unable to work. I am virtually incapable of doing anything right now. Yet I am still writing with all my strength. Because this is going to be the least time I am able to write and anything. The doctor checked the today and didn`t tell me anything. I can feel it too; I can feel that I am dying. I assume I have a week or two to live. Thankfully in my last days I am able to remember my 78 year long life with a sense of accomplishment and pride. I have done all I could to make the world more peaceful. I have shaped history in favor of everyone in this earth who wants to live in a free world. But now my time is drawing to an end. I am getting very tired. I think I`ll take a nap. |
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