Winston Churchill: Why the life of Britain’s audacious leader still matters

Behind his infamously stubborn political facade, and iconic top hat and cigar, he was a Nobel Prize-winning author, flawed student, accomplished painter and devoted father and husband.

January 24, the 50th anniversary of his death, marks an occasion to learn about the man behind the hero, at these English Churchill attractions.

Blenheim Palace (Oxfordshire)

Churchill’s beginnings were far from humble.

Born into the British aristocracy, his early years were spent at Blenheim Palace: a 2,000-acre, 187-room Baroque mansion built in the early 1700s to honor his distant relative John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough.

A new exhibition, held near the room of his birth, uses diary extracts, personal photos and family artifacts to take visitors on an intimate journey through his life.

Elsewhere on the grounds a new historical trail allows guests to follow in his footsteps through the estate.

Highlights include visits to the chapel where he was baptized and the Temple of Diana where he proposed to Clementine, his wife.

Robert Harris’ 1995 historical novel, “Enigma,” does an equally good job of recreating the wartime atmosphere at Bletchley Park.

Bletchley Park, Sherwood Drive, Bletchley, Milton Keynes; £15 per adult; £9 per child; families £34, children under 12 free; +44 1908 640 404

Science Museum (London)

“Science unfolded her treasures and her secrets,” Churchill wrote, “to the desperate demands of men.”

Beginning January 23, London’s Science Museum will host a special exhibition telling the little known story of how Churchill’s championship of science helped win the Second World War.

From the research that led to the invention of radar and the first atomic bomb to the discovery of penicillin and antibiotics, Churchill’s commitment to science helped forge the way for victory and influenced modern society for decades to come.

Science Museum, Exhibition Road, London; free; +44 20 7942 4000

Aaron Millar is an award-winning freelance journalist, and history buff, from the UK. He writes a blog at www.thebluedotperspective.com

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