Charles de Gaulle

Confronted with the seeming impossible in the Middle East, Wavell acquitted himself well and was promoted as often as he was sacked.

Lifetime friend and trusted collaborator, Louis Spears knew France and the French as few Britons, serving faithfully in peace and war.

Eden by Charlwood: “The morning had been golden; the noontime was bronze; and the evening lead. But all were solid, and each was polished until it shone after its fashion.”

Churchill loved war. His spirit rose when it came. He fought on battlefields with a mixture of dash and calm courage. He directed wars in cabinet rooms with the moral courage and unflinching nerve that yields the best decisions. But Churchill loved something else better than he loved war. He loved peace. He loved freedom. He loved governments that protected the rights of their people and operated only with their consent.

The earliest cigarette cards trace their origins to the Crimean War of 1853-56, when smoking rose to the heights of popularity. Originally, cards were plain stiffeners in the cigarette packs. With advances in printing and lithography, it did not take long for the tobacco companies to recognize the marketing potential of illustrated cards.

“Only Churchill carries that absolutely required criterion: indispensability,” wrote Dr. Krauthammer. “Without Churchill the world today would be unrecognizable.”

G.C.B Dodds, a private secretary in 1944, recalls Churchill’s energy, fearlessness and pugnacity, and an uncomfortable moment over de Gaulle.

The director of the Churchill Archives Center examines Churchill’s decision-making methods on challenges and problems of the Second World War.

Churchill never sneered at the supposed loss of French military power and valor in 20th century. He knew France provided a nearly indispensable buffer against Germany, and later, Russia.