David Lloyd George

Churchill offers thoughtful ideas on when representative government may be supplemented by a national vote. Above all, he thought the referendum must be rare. Only eleven times in his long career was there a call for a referendum. Only six times did he support it.

No evidence exists that Churchill wished to commit a million Allied troops. The British contingent he envisioned was small, and made up of volunteers. Above all, Churchill wanted decision, not hesitation, which he abhorred all his life.

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.

Mannerheim stepped down as Commander-in-Chief in January 1945 and as Regent-President in March 1946, aged 78. No actions were taken against him by the West for having been Hitler’s ally for three years. Winston Churchill, and every other objective observer, recognized that he was the savior of his country. He acted at a time when Finland was intolerably squeezed between the two most evil and violent totalitarian dictatorships in history.

Following previous abstracts, Vale and Scadding now complete their survey of Churchill’s health through his death in 1965. The format of their earlier articles continues. They present the evidence (mainly from diaries and memoirs), offer a chronology based on the official biography, quote press reports, and extensively discuss causal factors. Since technical language is minimal, their articles are readable by non-physicians. The main text is accompanied by vignettes on the relevant people and places.

Of all those appointed to his cabinet in May 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill had known Leo Amery the longest—back to when they were schoolboys. Despite the longevity of their relationship, they were never very close. Rather, as Robert Rhodes James wrote, “there was always a definite restraint, a lack of warmth, a noticeable caution and reserve” between them. Nevertheless, Amery played a notable part in ensuring Churchill’s premiership.

Tanks never appeared at the famous Glasgow riot; troops killed or injured no one, and Churchill’s was a leading voice of moderation among British ministers.

Sharing Churchill’s appreciation of the wisdom of Edmund Burke, Andrew Roberts compares the two great figures, and wonders what they’d make of Brexit.

The Agadir Crisis of 1911 awakened Winston Churchill to the possibility of war with Germany and led to him being appointed to the Admiralty.

The Liberal Party's enlightened ideas on taxation and liberty were understood by Churchill, Hill writes: but not, unfortunately, by many of his colleagues.