Great piece and I reckon 1965 was a good year to live through given I turned nine years old that year 😉 The year my sister joined the Army and my father became a Mortician in Sunderland Royal Infirmary having retired from the Fire Service the year before (back then firefighters had to retire at 55). I recall listening to Churchill's funeral on the radio (we didn't have a TV) although my parents weren't that fussed. He wasn't generally acclaimed in the northeast given his reaction to the coalminers and their attempts to improve conditions and pay by sending in troops when he was Home Secretary. In fact my mother recalled him being booed when he visited the northeast ammunition factory where she worked during the Second World War.
Thank you. Very interesting to hear your lived experiences. It's a fantastic year to ponder, because even though I wasn't alive, it's a jam packed year so far as history is concerned. It's a year that I consider history, while others, like yourself and my own parents, consider childhood; a wonderful crossover.
I know Churchill wasn't all that popular amongst many, and that in recent years much of what he did has been cross examined. I myself see him through the lens of critical history, but I feel his reputation is often salvaged by his wartime leadership, and that was likely reflected in the number of people who took the time to pay their respects. Being that he was a proper Tory, however, I can only imagine the stir he'd have caused up north!
I liken the view the people of the northeast had of Churchill akin to Liverpool's view on Boris Johnson - a sometimes dangerous glory seeker with little empathy for others. After all Churchill did say that history would be kind to him as he intended to write it! No coincidence that Churchill is a hero to Johnson.
Great piece and I reckon 1965 was a good year to live through given I turned nine years old that year 😉 The year my sister joined the Army and my father became a Mortician in Sunderland Royal Infirmary having retired from the Fire Service the year before (back then firefighters had to retire at 55). I recall listening to Churchill's funeral on the radio (we didn't have a TV) although my parents weren't that fussed. He wasn't generally acclaimed in the northeast given his reaction to the coalminers and their attempts to improve conditions and pay by sending in troops when he was Home Secretary. In fact my mother recalled him being booed when he visited the northeast ammunition factory where she worked during the Second World War.
Thank you. Very interesting to hear your lived experiences. It's a fantastic year to ponder, because even though I wasn't alive, it's a jam packed year so far as history is concerned. It's a year that I consider history, while others, like yourself and my own parents, consider childhood; a wonderful crossover.
I know Churchill wasn't all that popular amongst many, and that in recent years much of what he did has been cross examined. I myself see him through the lens of critical history, but I feel his reputation is often salvaged by his wartime leadership, and that was likely reflected in the number of people who took the time to pay their respects. Being that he was a proper Tory, however, I can only imagine the stir he'd have caused up north!
I liken the view the people of the northeast had of Churchill akin to Liverpool's view on Boris Johnson - a sometimes dangerous glory seeker with little empathy for others. After all Churchill did say that history would be kind to him as he intended to write it! No coincidence that Churchill is a hero to Johnson.