Read the essayĭr Susan Carland, an academic, author, and social commentator. Tom is Chancellor of the University of Canberra, Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia, and a Patron of the Winston Churchill Trust. Professor Tom Calma AO, an Aboriginal elder from the Kungarakan tribal group and a member of the Iwaidja tribal group in the NT. Three such essays appear here, written by: In commissioning and publishing these essays, the Trust hopes to demonstrate that it is open to contemporary appraisal of the person in whose name it operates.
#WINSTON CHURCHHILL SERIES#
But Churchill also had well-known bouts of depression and self-doubt throughout his life.Īs a contribution to hopefully a more constructive and thoughtful debate, the Trust has decided to commission a series of articles to offer contemporary assessments of Churchill from a variety of perspectives. A leader of his stature and achievement clearly had optimism and self-confidence in abundance, not to mention strength (physical and mental) which enabled him to withstand the pressures and stress to which he was subjected. Few people are paragons of virtue without blemish, especially when viewed with the benefit of hindsight or the comfort of an armchair, and Churchill wasn’t.
While the main focus has naturally been on his positive achievements, especially – but far from exclusively – his leadership during the Second World War, his flaws have hardly remained secret. His own prodigious writing and literary achievements have contributed to this, as have the many books and articles written by others, a list which continues to grow year by year. Winston Churchill’s life has been more comprehensively documented, warts and all, than almost any other person.
In being open-minded to different viewpoints, impacts and the context of his actions we aim to encourage people to learn more about Winston Churchill and engage in constructive discussion. Acknowledging this should not undermine the historical significance of Winston Churchill or imply that his achievements should be re-written. We should acknowledge that when considered from a contemporary perspective, some of Sir Winston’s decisions and views now appear awkward or wrong, particularly on matters of race. The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was formed in 1965 with the principal objective of perpetuating and honouring Sir Winston’s memory by the awarding of ‘Churchill Fellowships’.Īs time passes and those with first-hand knowledge of his life and achievements inevitably diminish, the task of perpetuating Sir Winston’s memory becomes increasingly important.
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