Winston Churchill

I have to admit that I am not an admirer of Winston Churchill. As a child I made the mistake of mentioning Churchill to my grandfather. He explained, with vehemence, why that name was never to be mentioned in his Betws house. Churchill was the Home Secretary who ordered troops in to deal with Welsh trade unionists in the bitter industrial disputes of 1910-11. In 1911 troops opened fire in Llanelli - colleagues of my grandfather were killed. He had intended to join the demonstration, but was laid low with illness - if he had gone perhaps I could not have been born! I sometimes pass Nicholas Soames at Westminster - and my mind is drawn to the fact that his grandfather's orders could have led to the killing of my grandfather, save for illness on the day!

Today is the 136th anniversary of Churchill's birth (coincidentally, my daughter's 26th birthday) - and this is one of his most famous speeches.