best speeches winston churchill

8 of Churchill’s greatest speeches

Winston Churchill delivered some of the most inspirational speeches in history, but which of his orations were the most important? Here, Winston S Churchill – grandson of the famous prime minister – selects eight of the very best...

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‘We lie within a few minutes’ striking distance’

16 November 1934, London

Winston Churchill was, in November 1934, a lone voice in questioning the country’s policy of appeasement to Hitler:

“At present we lie within a few minutes’ striking distance of the French, Dutch and Belgian coasts, and within a few hours of the great aerodromes of Central Europe," he said. "We are even within canon-shot of the Continent.

"So close as that! Is it prudent, is it possible, however much we might desire it, to turn our backs upon Europe and ignore whatever may happen there? I have come to the conclusion – reluctantly I admit – that we cannot get away. Here we are and we must make the best of it. But do not underrate the risks – the grievous risks – we have to run.”

'We take our stand for freedom'

5 October 1938, House of Commons, London

Just a few days after Neville Chamberlain returned from Munich brandishing his now infamous scrap of paper , Churchill predicted that war had certainly not been averted. He was right.

“This is only the beginning of the reckoning," he told the House of Commons. "This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless, by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.”

• Read more | Did appeasement cause the Second World War?

'Blood, toil, tears and sweat'

13 May 1940, House of Commons, London

It's May 1940. Chamberlain has resigned, and Churchill, now 65, has formed his government. This first speech in office settles the country’s nerves:

“I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this Government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. This is our policy. You ask, what is our aim?

"I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory, there is no survival.”

'We shall never surrender'

4 June 1940, House of Commons, London

After the Dunkirk evacuation , Churchill calmed the nation’s euphoria and stiffened its resolve with this speech:

“Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous states have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

• Listen | Richard J Evans answers key questions about the Third Reich

'This was their finest hour'

18 June 1940, House of Commons, London

Churchill stands tall in the face of an impending onslaught, and inspires the pilots of the RAF to victory in the Battle of Britain .

“The battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned upon us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war.

"If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’”

• Read more | What exactly was the British empire?

'The few'

20 August 1940, House of Commons, London

As the Battle of Britain climaxes, Churchill praises the bravery of the RAF pilots.

“The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the World War by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

• Read more | 6 Battle of Britain myths

'An iron curtain has descended'

5 March 1946, Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri

In the spring of 1946, Churchill warned about the threat of Soviet Russia. This stopped America’s retreat into isolationism and led to the creation of NATO:

“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin , Prague , Vienna, Budapest , Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere.”

'The nation… had the lion heart'

30 November, 1954. Presentation by both Houses of Parliament, Westminster Hall, London

On his 80th birthday, Churchill showed he was still a master orator:

“I am very glad that Mr Attlee described my speeches in the war as expressing the will not only of Parliament but of the whole nation. Their will was resolute and remorseless and, as it proved, unconquerable. It fell to me to express it, and if I found the right words you must remember that I have always earned my living by my pen and by my tongue. It was the nation and race dwelling all round the globe that had the lion heart. I had the luck to be called upon to give the roar."

Winston S Churchill's Never Give in! The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches was published by Pimlico in 2003. This feature was first published in Living History Magazine (later merged with BBC History Magazine ) in 2003

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Top 10 Greatest Speeches

As the political season heats up, TIME takes a tour of history's best rhetoric

Winston Churchill

Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat, 1940

In his first speech as Britain's Prime Minister, Churchill tied the outcome of the fight against the Nazis to the survival of Britain itself. One of history's best battle cries.

Best Line : "You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy."

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2 indispensable speeches from Winston Churchill that demonstrate the power of words

A reporter for time in 1940 wrote that what churchill ‘gave his country, above all, was leadership’.

Winston Churchill has been remembered since his death on Jan. 24, 1965, as many things: a statesman, writer and leader, but many remember him as one of the “greatest speakers of the 20th century.”

Churchill once said , “Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king. He is an independent force in the world. Abandoned by his party, betrayed by his friends, stripped of his offices, whoever can command this power is still formidable.”

America’s National Churchill Museum published various audio clips and transcripts from many of Churchill’s most iconic speeches and after careful review, there are two that demonstrate the power words hold.

“Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat” and “Their Finest Hour” are some of Churchill’s most indispensable speeches and here’s why.

‘Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat’

Just as Churchill was stepping into his new role as prime minister, he was facing pressure to negotiate a peace deal with Hitler, according to the BBC .

Despite the pressures he was facing, he reportedly “made it clear” that the only option was to “wage war” against Nazi Germany and their vision for leadership.

Churchill emphasized his standpoint in his speech, saying, “We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.”

U.K. Parliament reported that this “inaugural” speech as a “wartime leader” showed his proficiency in rhetoric and leadership.

“You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival,” Churchill said .

Not only did this speech reportedly make Churchill’s career from the outset, it inspired the British to step up and fight against the Germans who had been attacking.

Prior to Churchill’s speech, “a lot of punching, hammering, rushing and blasting — had been done by the Germans. It was the British who went out backwards, faster than they had come in,” Time reported in May 1940.

Time later reported that Churchill’s words “established a new British attitude toward the growing conflict — and a reputation that would keep him in the Prime Minister’s office through the end of the war in Europe.”

Michael Elliott , a reporter for Time in 1940, wrote that what Churchill “gave his country, above all, was leadership.”

‘Their Finest Hour’

As the Second World War was raging on, Churchill used the power of words to ignite hope and “lift the spirits of the public” despite the terrifying circumstances that were increasing during that time.

The speech , given on Jun. 18, 1940, ended with the words, “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’”

Though the words from that speech have been revered throughout the decades since Churchill said them, the speech was reportedly a difficult task as the famous wordsmith was at a “loss for words.”

Time magazine reported that the screenwriter of “Darkest Hour,” Anthony McCarten, said, “One of the real revelations for me was to find how uncertain he was during this period, because history as we’re handed it tells us he was unyielding.”

The Library of Congress published a small extract from the original draft of the speech that shows some edits Churchill made to the original typing.

“When you look at the manuscripts of those speeches, there is so much crossing out and rewording. As a writer, I could feel that these words didn’t spring whole from his imagination. He had to hack them out of a rock, and they didn’t come easily. He was under enormous pressure,” McCarten further elaborated .

The BBC reported that Churchill’s speeches were typically not “off-the-cuff” and that this particular speech was no different.

Churchill reportedly spent “much time” in preparation before delivering any of them to the public.

“It’s the most important moment in Churchill’s life and career and the most important historical turning point of the 20th century,” International Churchill Society Executive Director Michael Bishop said . “It was really the moment when Hitler could have won the war.”

NPR reported that BBC correspondent Charles Wheeler, who was 16 years old in 1940, said that Churchill was a leader the country needed at the time and delivered a speech the country needed.

“His rhetoric, nowadays, sounds desperately overblown and rather old-fashioned. But at the time, it seemed exactly right. It struck all the right notes,” Wheeler said .

Winston Churchill’s most famous WW2 speeches

There are many sides to Sir Winston Churchill : he was an icon of the Allied war effort; a Prime Minister who led a nation to victory; a leader who fought fiercely against a tyrannical regime; and a man who strengthened a people with words of courage.

It is on a human level, as a man speaking to other men and women that he made his greatest impact. His words which offered encouragement and consolation during WW2's darkest moments have an enduring legacy. To appreciate these feats of oratory we must understand the context in which they were spoken to fully grasp their impact and how they lifted the spirits of a dejected country.

Read more about WW2

Their finest hour: Which actor portrayed the most convincing Churchill?

'blood, toil, tears and sweat' - may 10 1940.

This was Churchill’s first speech since assuming the role of British Prime Minister, following Neville Chamberlain’s resignation: 'I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.' Churchill asked the Commons for a vote of confidence in his new all-party government. Despite not being Chamberlain's preferred successor - primarily due to his opposition to the former’s appeasement policy - it was passed unanimously.

Three days prior, the ‘phoney war’ (a period of relative calm after Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939) ended abruptly - The Battle of France had begun. Churchill made it very clear how he planned to deal with the Nazis: ‘You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air…’ He also assured the Commons of his commitment and stressed how high the stakes were, 'without victory there is no survival’.

'We Shall Fight on the Beaches' - June 4 1940

Much of this speech addressed the military developments in Western Europe - including the weakening of the French army (even suggesting an eventual surrender) and the loss of the Belgian one. The success of Operation Dynamo was also highlighted – the evacuation of over 338,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk .

At the time, Churchill was under pressure from fellow ministers to sue for peace with Hitler . Instead, Churchill reinforced his war policy and emphasized a message of no surrender: ‘we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny...’

He also made it clear that Britain would never surrender, even after defeat. Why? Because the American government needed this avowal. Via secret channels, President Roosevelt wanted an assurance of British military commitment even if defeated on the field. This was necessary if there was to be any American intervention.

'This was their finest hour' - June 18 1940

This was Churchill’s third and final speech during the Battle of France, made two days after France began seeking an armistice. The thirty-six-minute speech acknowledged French losses and Hitler’s shifting focus to Britain: ‘What General Weygand has called the Battle of France is over…the Battle of Britain is about to begin.’ Churchill continued to rally the country, highlighting the severity of the situation whilst stressing the importance of Britain’s response in the coming weeks and months: ‘If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be freed.’

A message of belief in victory continued to be pushed, with parallels drawn to The Great War , where the Allies had found themselves in a similar losing situation: ‘During that war we repeatedly asked ourselves the question, “How are we going to win?” and no one was able ever to answer….until at the end…our terrible foe collapsed before us.’

Churchill also continued to address the need for American involvement: 'But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States…will sink into the abyss of a new dark age…’

'The Few' - August 20 1940

The Battle of Britain had begun and in this speech, Churchill praised the Royal Air Force - 'undaunted by odds, unweakened by their constant challenge and mortal danger' that was fending off the German Luftwaffe and 'turning the tide of world war by their prowess and their devotion’. Rapid aircraft salvaging and production were also commended.

Britain’s response was applauded, considering the gains made by the Germans and the losses suffered across Europe: ‘Few would have believed we could survive – none would have believed that we should today…be stronger than we have ever been before.’

The speech concluded with an update on Britain’s strategic alliance with America specifically, the provision of British defence facilities for the United States.

'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few’

Coupled with the three speeches above, Churchill had created rousing and heartening rhetoric that bolstered the nation in the early stages of the war.

‘You do your worst - and we will do our best’ – July 14th,1941

Churchill’s words of strength were present throughout the war. Notably in this speech, where he paid homage to those who had served during The Blitz and expressed admiration of the spirit of the British people: ‘The courage, the unconquerable grit and stamina of our people, showed itself from the very outset.’

Churchill also warned of further German bombing raids as the RAF offensive continued, to which he also added a message of strength, reiterating the scale of what the nation was fighting for: ‘We shall never turn from our purpose, however sombre the road, however grievous the cost, because we know out of this time of trial and tribulation will be born a new freedom and glory for all mankind.’

In a long-career of oratory, journalism and historical writing these notable speeches, represent just a small proportion of what he contributed to the English language - a man whose words were just as important as his actions.

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Winston Churchill Quotes

Scientific progress.

It is arguable whether the human race have been gainers by the march of science beyond the steam engine. Electricity opens a field of infinite conveniences to ever greater numbers, but they may well have to pay dearly for them. But anyhow in my thought I stop short of the internal combustion engine which has made the world so much smaller. Still more must we fear the consequences of entrusting to a human race so little different from their predecessors of the so-called barbarous ages such awful agencies as the atomic bomb. Give me the horse.

~ Winston Churchill, 10 July 1951, Royal College of Physicians, London

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Do Your Worst; We'll Do Our Best

I am very glad to come here today to pay my tribute and to record in the name of the Government our gratitude to all the civil authorities of London who, first under Sir John Anderson, and through the darkest moments under the courageous and resourceful leadership of Mr. Herbert Morrison so long master of the London County Council, and now acting in an even higher sphere to all who carried out their duties faithfully, skilfully, and devotedly, so that at last we made our way through the tempest, and came for the time being, at any rate, into a calm spell.

During her long ordeal London was upheld by the sympathy and admiration of the other great cities of our Island and let us not forget here loyal Belfast, in Northern Ireland and when after the enemywearied of his attack upon the capital and turned to other parts of the country, many of us in our hearts felt anxiety lest the weight of attack concentrated on those smaller organisms should prove more effective than when directed on London, which is so vast and strong that she is like a prehistoric monster into whose armoured hide showers of arrows can be shot in vain. But a frightful measure of cruelty of the enemy's assault; and I say here that, while we are entitled to speak particularly of London, we honour them for their constancy in a comradeship of suffering, of endurance, and of triumph. That comradeship in this hideous, unprecedented, novel pressure has united us all, and it has proved to the world the quality of our Island life.

I have no doubt whatever, as I said to the civil defence forces in Hyde Park this morning, that the behaviour of the British people in this trial gained them conquests in the mind and spirit and sympathy of the United States of America which swept into an igDominious comer all the vilest strokesof Goebbels propaganda.

We have to ask ourselves this question: Will the bombing attacks of last autumn and winter come back again? We have proceeded on the assumption that they will. Some months ago I requested the Home Secretary and Minister of Home Security and his principal colleagues, the Minister of Health and others, to make every preparation for the autumn and winter war as if we should have to go through the same ordeal as last year, only rather worse. I am sure that everything is being done in accordance with those directions. The shelters are being strengthened, improved, lighted and warmed. All arrangements for fire-control and fire-watching are being improved perpetually.

Many new arrangements are being contrived as a result of the hard experience through which we have passed and the many mistakes which no doubt we have made for success is the result of making many mistakes and learning from experience. If the lull is to end, if the storm is to renew itself, London will be ready, London will not flinch, London can take it again.

We ask no favours of the enemy. We seek from them no compunction. On the contrary, if to-night the people of London were asked to cast their vote whether a convention should be entered into to stop the bombing of all cities, the overwhelming majority would cry, "No, we will mete out to the Germans the measure, and more than the measure, that they have meted out to us." The people of London with one voice would say to Hitler: "You have committed every crime under the sun. Where you have been the least resisted there you have been the most brutal. It was you who began the indiscriminate bombing. We remember Warsaw in the very first few days of the war. We remember Rotterdam. We have been newly reminded of your habits by the hideous massacre of Belgrade. We know too well the bestial assault yon are making upon the Russian people, to whom our hearts go out in their valiant struggle. We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will. You do your worst and we will do our best." Perhaps it may be our turn soon; perhaps it may be our turn now.

We live in a terrible epoch of the human story, but we believe there is a broad and sure justice running through its theme. It Is time that the Germans should be made to safer in their own and cities something of the torment they have twice in our lifetime let loose upon their neighbours and upon the world.

We have now intensified for a month past our systematic, scientific, methodical bombing on a lazge scale of the German cities, seaports, industries, and other military objectives. We believe it to be in our power to keep this process going, on a steadily rising tide, month after month, year after year, until the Nazi regime is either extirpated by us or, better still, torn to pieces by the German people themselves.

Every month as the great bombers are finished in our factories or sweep hither across the Atlantic Ocean we shall continue the remorseless discharge of high explosives on Germany. Every month will see the tonnage increase, and, as the nights lengthen and the range of our bombers also grows, that unhappy, abject, subject province of Germany which used to be called Italy will have its fair share too.

In the last few weeks alone we have thrown upon Germany about half the tonnage of bombs thrown by the Germans upon our cities during the whole course of the war. But this is only the beginning, and we hope by next July to multiply our deliveries manifold.

It is for this reason that I must ask you to be prepared for vehement counter-action by the enemy. Our methods of dealing with the German night raiders have steadily improved. They no longer relish their trips, to our shores. It is not true to say they did not come this last moon because they were all engaged in Russia. They have a bombing force in the West quite capable of making very heavy attacks. I do not know why they did not come, but, as I mentioned in Hyde Park, it is certainly not because they have begun to love us more. It may be because they are saving up, but even if that be so, the very fact that they have to save up should give us confidence by revealing the truth of our steady advance from an almost unarmed position to a position at least of equality, and soon of superiority to them in the air.

But all engaged in our civil defence forces, whether in London or throughout the country, must prepare themselves for further heavy assaults. Your oiganization, your vigilance, yoor devotion to duty, your zeal for the cause must be raised to the highest intensity.

We do not expect to hit without being hit back, and we intend with every week that passes to hit harder. Prepare yourselves, then, my friends and comrades in the Battle of London, for this renewal of your exertions. We shall never turn from our purpose, however sombre the road, however grievous the cost, because we know that out of this time of trial and tribulation will be born a new freedom and glory for all mankind.

Winston Churchill July 14, 1941

“Leave the past to history especially as I propose to write that history myself.”