Timeline of Winston Churchill's first premiership explained

The following is a timeline of the first premiership of Winston Churchill, who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the bulk of World War II. His speeches and radio broadcasts helped inspire British resistance, especially during the difficult days of 1940–41 when the British Commonwealth and Empire stood almost alone in its active opposition to Nazi Germany. He led Britain as Prime Minister until victory over Nazi Germany had been secured.^[1]

After the Conservative Party lost the 1945 election, Churchill became Leader of the Opposition to the Labour Government. He would go on to be re-elected as Prime Minister in 1951.

1940

May

• ^[2]

November

1941

December

• • 8 December 1941: With the hope of using Irish ports for counter submarine operations, Churchill sends a telegram to the Irish Prime Minister in which he obliquely offers Irish unity: "Now is your chance. Now or never! A nation once again! I will meet you wherever you wish." No meeting took place between the two prime ministers and there is no record of a response from the Irish Prime Minister Éamon de Valera.^[3]

1942

December

• ^[4]

1943

November

1944

December

1945

May

• • 23 May 1945: Wartime coalition ends. Start of brief caretaker government.

June

• 5 June 1945: The longest parliament of the 20th century is dissolved.

July

See also

• British Empire in World War II
• Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II
• List of Allied World War II conferences

Further reading

• Addison, Paul. The road to 1945: British politics and the Second World War (1975; 2nd ed. 2010), a standard scholarly history of wartime politics.
• Addison, Paul. Churchill on the Home Front, 1900–1955 (1992) ch 10–11.
• Crowcroft, Robert. "‘Making a Reality of Collective Responsibility’: The Lord President's Committee, Coalition and the British State at War, 1941–42." Contemporary British History 29.4 (2015): 539–562. online
• Pelling, Henry. "The 1945 general election reconsidered." Historical Journal (1980) 23(2) pp: 399–414. online
• Smart, Nick. British strategy and politics during the phony war: before the balloon went up (Greenwood, 2003).
• Todman, David. Britain's War: 1937–1941 (vol 1, Oxford UP, 2016); 828pp; comprehensive coverage of home front, military, and diplomatic developments; Excerpt

Notes and References

1. The main sources here are Facts on file yearbook (compilation of weekly reports) and Keesing's Contemporary Archives (monthly reports), both online.
2. Book: Keegan, John . The Times Atlas of the Second World War . 1994 . London . 16–17 .
3. Bromage, Mary (1964), Churchill and Ireland, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, IL, pg 162, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 64-20844
4. News: BBC On This Day: 17 December 1942. 17 December 1942 . 1 February 2016.