Churchill: The Finest Half Hour

On 8 May 1945, Prime Minister Winston Churchill celebrated victory in Europe with ecstatic crowds thronging the streets of London.Within weeks, Churchill was swept out of office as the Labour Party won a landslide victory in Britain's General Election.Professor Richard Toye and Dr, Warren Dockter explore this spectacular reversal of fortune for Britain's wartime leader - with a particular focus on a radio broadcast which became notorious...

What did the half-American Winston Churchill make of the US Constitution?How did he argue that it helped to bind Britain and America together?And why did he think it was a mistake to try and legislate the prohibition of alchol via the 18th Amendment?With the United States marking the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence, Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter cover 40 years as they delve into Churchill's evolving views on the constitution of 'The Great Republic'.

How did painting intersect with Winston Churchill's political career - and what do his experiences as an artist tell us about Churchill's psyche?Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter explore some answers, with the expert help of Timothy Riley, Director and Chief Curator of America's National Churchill Museum.

John 'Jock' Colville was a civil servant in 10 Downing Streeet in 1940 - and he viewed Churchill's arrival as Prime Minister with much scepticism.Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter explain why Colville's doubts about Churchill evaporated - and how he recorded his wartime experiences working at Churchill's side in a diary which is an invaluable resource for historians.They reveal too how Colville's loyalty continued in Churchill's second premiership, when Colville played a key role in keeping Churchill's health problems from the public. And how Colville became one of the great defenders of Churchill's reputation and builders of his legacy, leading the successful efforts to create Churchill College, Cambridge, as national memorial to the politician he'd served so faithfully.

In the Second World War. one of Churchill's closest working relationships - and perhaps the most significant - was with the senior commander Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff from December 1941.It was a relationship which Brooke frequently found maddening, as he recalled in his diaries. But it was also productive.Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter analyse a partnership which helped shape British and Allied military strategy. And which arguably showed Churchill - brilliant, energetic, impetuous and frustrating - at his most Churchillian.

One man was right by Churchill's side from the dramatic summer of 1940 right throught to Churchill's death in 1965: his doctor, Charles Wilson, aka Lord Moran. In 1966, Lord Moran published a book - 'Churchill: The Struggle for Survival' - which discussed Churchill's physical health and alleged that he suffered from depression, the so-called 'black dog'.Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter discuss the contents of Moran's book, its value as a source on Churchill's life and the hostile reaction to its publication from Churchill's family, who believed Moran had abandoned medical ethics.

Winston Churchill's relationship with Ireland and Irish politics was complex and controversial.Churchill had a hand in partition and the creation of the Irish Free State. In the Irish Civil War. Then in the Second World War, Churchill's desire to access Irish ports led to testy dealings with the Irish government - and radical plans for the unification of north and south.Professor Richard Toye and Dr. Warren Dockter explore the complexity, controversy - and drama - in this episode of Churchill: The Finest Half Hour.

Professor Richard Toye and Dr Warren Dockter discuss Churchill's role in the war which began in Ireland in 1919, including Churchill's journey from the 'hawk' who refused to condemn atrocities by British troops to the 'dove' who argued for a negotiated settlement.They explore Churchill's role in the treaty of 1921 which led to the creation of the Irish Free State and Churchill's relationship with the Irish military and political leader Michael Collins, who established a rapport with Churchill but noted to himself: "Don't actually trust him."