OCR Text |
Show toeath Claims Churchill Alt 90s World Mourns Loss : $ ; ' s : Vv , : vn N J emJf .v j s I If 5 v I iy"5' U . 1 "Sell J : '"'Wn!-4f '"' I ' V" w f J --v S "X ; i t ; It J) j By R. D. WILDE Chronicle Campui Editor Sir Winston Churchill died peacefully in his sleep Sunday morning after being stricken 10 days ago with cerebral thrombosis. throm-bosis. The 90 year old British statesman, who served some 62 years in the political affairs af-fairs of England, was pronounced dead at 8 a.m. Sunday, as his wife and members of his family stood close by his death bed. Tributes of the life-long work of Churchill poured in from across the world as word of his death was heard. Pres. Johnson from his sickbed in Washington Wash-ington sent a statement saying: "When there was darkness in the world, and hope was low in the hearts of men, a generous Providence gave us Winston Churchill. As long as men tell about that time of terrible danger and of the men who won the victory, vic-tory, the name of Churchill will live. He is history's child, and what he said and what he did will never die." The great World War II statesman is remembered by many people of the Allied nations for his courage in the face of the Nazi bombings. Churchill's bold, decisive nature and his V for victory inspired the French and other nations under Nazi domination dom-ination to regain the spirit of freedom. French President Charles De Gaulle noted Sir Winston in a communique to Lady Churchill as "my wartime companion and my friend." De Gaulle told Queen Elizabeth that "France feels profoundly the grief which has stricken Britain." Upon word of the death of the ex-prime minister, flags across the island were lowered to half mast. Queen Elizabeth led the nation in a proclaimed week of mourning mourn-ing for the statesman. Born on Nov. 30, 1874, at Blenheim Palace, Pal-ace, Oxfordshire, Sir Winston was a direct descendant of John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough and one of England's greatest heroes. In 1893 Winston Churchill entered the Royal Military College. Three years later he served with the 4th Hussars in India and the Sudan. Then, during the Boer War of 1899, he was captured and later escaped from a prison camp, this made him a national na-tional hero. He captured a seat in the House of Commons Com-mons when he was 26 years old, and was continuously a member of that body, except ex-cept for a short period when he was defeated de-feated in 1922-23. During his life he held almost every major government position. He was secretary secre-tary of state for the Colonies, minister of munitions, secretary of state for war, Chancellor of the Exchequer and in 1939 he rose to First Lord of the Admiralty. Throughout his life, Churchill was a controversial con-troversial figure. In 1904 he deserted the Conservative Party for the Liberals, and 20 years later changed back again. As Chancellor Chancel-lor of the Exchequer in the mid-twenties, he aroused hostility by his actions during the General Strike of 1926. From 1929 to 1939, he lost popularity in the House of Commons due to two incidents: inci-dents: his insistence on arming against the Axis Nations, and his defense of Edward VIII in the abdication crisis. In peace, many ministers complained that Churchill tried to run their departments, depart-ments, but in war the nation needed a man with confidence in his own judgement to . manage the crucial affair. He lifted the spirits of his countrymen by his brilliant oration and use of the English language. During the early part of the war, Churchill told his people: "I have nothing to offre but blood, sweat, toil and tears." With his vast knowledge of the language, and his accuracy of dramatizing the "common "com-mon person," Churchill won recognition in the literary world. In 1953, he received the Nobel Prize for literature for his many works, his most widely known was "The History of the English Speaking Peoples." In ' 1955, Churchill gave up the prime ministership of Britain. He took the advice of both his doctor and members of the Conservative Party, who wanted a younger, more vigorous man as the prime minister. At his 80th birthday, in 1954, Churchill said, "I am now nearing the end of my journey," but the man proclaimed as the "Greatest statesman since Gladstone" held on to life for 10 more years. In his last ma jor address as prime minister, he told the country, "Never flinch, never weary, never despair." Many tributes were paid to Churchill. On April 9, 1963, by a special act of the United States Congress, he was made an honorary citizen, the first one in American history. As Pres. John F. Kennedy signed the proclamation, he called Churchill, 'the most honored and honorable man to walk the stage of human history in the time in which we live." The proclamation read: "Serving six monarchs of his native Great Britain, he has served all men's freedom and diginity." Churchill watched the announcement by television transmitted through a communications communi-cations satellite. Hearing this proclamation of tribute, he wept openly. Upon hearing on the death of the "old warrior," Soviet Premier Alexei N. Kosy-gin Kosy-gin saluted him by saying, "The grief of the British people in connection with this bereavement is shared here." This statement was given after a Tass news dispatch attacked Churchill as 'the mastermind behind the cold war against the Soviet Union." The funeral services for Sir Winston will be Saturday. His body will be prepared to lay in state, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, at Westminster Hall, while the people peo-ple of England pay their respects. Saturday morning, the body will be moved from Westminster Hall to St. Paul's Cathedral where the Archbishop of Canterbury, Canter-bury, primate of the Church of England, will conduct the funeral services. In the procession, Churchill's coffin will be placed on a gun carriage drawn by 12 horses. Troops of British regiments will escort the gun carriage. After the ceremony at St. Paul's, the funeral will move slowly to Tower Pier, where the coffin will be placed on a funeral barge draped in black. The barge will proceed pro-ceed up the Thames to Blenheim estate, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. At St. Martin's church, near the estate, the great Englishman will be layed to rest directly behind the graves of his father and mother. I Sir Winston Churchill, 90, suffered from a fatal cerebral throm-bosis throm-bosis a blood clot in the brain for the past ten days. His body will lay in state at Westminster Hall, later this week he will be placed in his final resting place at Blenheim estate. 1 |