Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)

Early Life
Visit to Malta
Parliamentary Career

Born in London to Jewish parents in December 1804, Benjamin Disraeli grew up to become one of Britain's best and most respected statesmen in history.

It is indeed an honour for Malta to have been visited and praised by, amongst others, such a key personality in the history of the nineteenth century.

Disraeli's parents moved to Britain independently; his father from Italy in 1748, while his mother's family had been driven from Portugal by the Inquisition in 1730. This last fact illustrates the extent of the changes that the world was experiencing during this important period.

Although born in a Jewish household, Benjamin was baptised at age 12, for his father knew that this was necessary if his son was to be successful in Britain during those times.

At the age of 17, he was apprenticed to a solicitor (i.e. a lawyer in the lower courts and one who is mainly engaged in drafting contracts), but soon afterwards he himself became a barrister (i.e. a lawyer of the higher courts).

Not wanting to be a lawyer, however, Disraeli had his name struck off the register at the Lincoln's Inn in 1831.

This was right after his visit to Malta in 1830, when he sailed to the British colony on the recommendation of his friend Lord Byron, who had himself been to the island in 1809.

The 25-year-old Ben Disraeli arrived at Malta in August and, like all visitors at that period, was compelled to spend time in quarantine at the Lazzaretto Hospital (on Manoel Island overlooking Marsamxett harbour).

Then, on August 26th, he moved to the 'Beverley Hotel' at the island's capital, La Valetta. The 'Beverley' was a converted old residence, previously known as 'Palazzo Britto', and is said to have been a favourite among certain British visitors, amongst whom was Sir Walter Scott.

Disraeli was very impressed by the city, as becomes evident from letters to his sister and to his friend, Ben Austen.

The day after taking up residence at the 'Beverley' he wrote to his sister saying, "…the society at Malta is very refined indeed for a Colony," adding, "Malta is certainly a delightful station. Its city, Valletta, equals in its noble architecture, if it does not excel, any capital in Europe."

Even in his letter to Ben Austen on September 14th, Disraeli expressed wonderment, describing the city as 'comparable to Venice and Cadiz' with "…not a single tree, but full of palaces worthy of Palladio."

To his father he wrote, "I had no need of letters of introduction here and have already troops of friends."

His visit to Malta was part of a year-long holiday, during which Disraeli also visited Spain, Venice and Palestine. These travels served to broaden his perspective on life's problems and on his return to Britain campaigned for broad reform, earning him the label of 'radical'.

Parliamentary Career

He was not elected to Parliament until 1837, when his views were publicly perceived to be more acceptable. This was also the time at which Queen Victoria came to the throne.

Despite his amateurish beginnings, when he was even laughed at by the members of the House during his maiden speech, Disraeli rose to become one of the most noted and eloquent speakers and, in less than 10 years, he became the leader of the Conservative Party.

In 1846, Tory leader, Sir Robert Peel, repealed the Corn Laws so that foreign corn would remain being imported into the country free of tax. Some members of his Tory party, mostly landowners who felt betrayed, opposed their leader and Benjamin Disraeli, now 42 years old, ceased the opportunity to form his own faction and became the leader of the Conservative Party. The Whig Party was in power for the following 6 years.

In his first years as leader of the party, Disraeli was elected to Parliament as representative for Buckinghamshire, where he himself eventually bought a sizeable estate.

In 1852, he became Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Earl of Derby's Cabinet. He concentrated on improving lower class working conditions and giving the vote to many (men) who did not have it.

In 1858, history repeated itself, with Derby again becoming Prime Minister and Disraeli his Chancellor of the Exchequer. The following year, his efforts to give the vote to rent-paying working-class men failed.

In 1867, though, he succeeded.

In 1868, upon Derby's retirement, sixty-three-year old Benjamin Disraeli became Prime Minister for the first time. This office was short-lived, however, as William Ewart Gladstone, his prime rival and leader of the Liberal Party, won that year's elections and became Prime Minister for the next term.

In 1874, Disraeli regained power and, finally, had a chance to improve the working- and housing-conditions of the lower classes (at a time when the 'middle-class' was still being conceived by the Industrial Revolution).

Prime Minister Disraeli was also responsible for passing the Public Health Act and the Friendly Societies' Act, aimed at assuring the worker's physical and financial welfare respectively. That which in later years could be considered as 'essential' and 'basic' was often "unthinkable" in those days, when the lower class had little or no rights, despite their right to vote!

Ordinary workers were allowed to organise themselves in Trade Unions; another "unthinkable" measure, especially coming from a Conservative government.

By 1875, Disraeli was concentrating more on foreign policy. He bought more shares in the Suez Canal in Egypt, thereby giving Britain the controlling interest in this all-important world trade waterway between the East and West.

In 1876, the Prime Minister earned the title of Earl of Beaconsfield, thus moving from the House of Commons to the House of Lords, a similar scenario to the Earl of Derby's before him.

In 1877, war broke out in the Balkans, which were then under Turkish control and, aided in their revolt against Turkey by Russia, the Balkan people eventually won the war.

The proposed peace treaty would give Russia too great a power in the region and, hence, would hinder communication between Great Britain and her Eastern Empire. So Disraeli supported Turkey in this matter, but was opposed at home by the Liberals.

This called for alternative measures so -- at the Congress of Berlin in 1878 -- he lobbied for a treaty that would give Russia less control.

Disraeli lost the 1880 elections to Gladstone, and he died the following year, thus ending one of the world's most noble political careers.

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Field Marshal Rommel

Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel was born Heidenheim, Germany, in 1891. He served in WW1 and in later yeas became an instructor at the Military Academy at Dresden. Erwin Rommel headed Hitler’s guard at the Nazi headquarters during the early years of the Second World War but moved to the front, leading a Panzer (tank) division during France’s 1940 invasion.

Field Marshal Rommel was the commander of the Afrika Korps, gaining the name of Dessert Fox following his repeated successes against the British, whose Eighth Army finally forced him into retreat.

Rommel, sick and defeated, was withdrawn and reassigned a commanding post in occupied France. He returned home wounded in 1944, when he committed suicide after being associated with the attempt on Hitler’s life which he is said to have condoned.

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Hans Christian Andersen

This world-famous Danish writer's famous works include: The Little Match Girl, The Tinderbox, The Little Mermaid, The Snow Queen, The Shepherdess & the Chimney Sweep, Thumbelina, The Red Shoes, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Princess and the Pea, The Emperor's New Clothes and The Ugly Duckling.

In October 1840, Hans Christian Andersen went abroad to avoid critics before the staging of his latest work, The Moorish Girl. This play was withdrawn after only three nights, resulting in a financial disaster. During this trip, which took him to Germany, Italy and Malta, Hans suffered ill health and loneliness too started to bite in. He met with storms, floods and even tremors (in Italy).

It is perhaps safe to say that his stopover at Malta was the most delightful part of his journey, as may be evidenced by his diary's descriptive account, which provides a living experience true to his characteristic story-telling style.

His recollections include a lovely description of his early morning arrival, when his vessel made port at Valletta.

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Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

Early Life, Schooling,
Military Life, War Correspondent
Political Career Famous Words

Born in Oxfordshire, England, on November 30, 1874, Winston Churchill grew up to become one of the most influential personalities of the 20th century.

He is globally acclaimed as an outstanding statesman, as well as a magnificent leader and orator who was also a journalist, soldier, artist and writer. Churchill was Britain's prime minister during World War 2, between 1940-45, and again between 1951-55, ironically missing the term in between.

This man who had inspired Britain and the whole of the Commonwealth to take up arms and fight with all they had against the Hitler regime, was voted out of government after so great an achievement, just as Britain and her allies euphorically celebrated Victory in Europe! His parliamentary career was as colourful as it was successful.

Winston Churchill is said to have been a late developer and never progressed past lower school at his favourite Harrow, although he later demonstrated that he could learn quickly when he wanted to. As he himself wrote, "All the clever boys went on to learn Greek and splendid things like that BUT I WAS TAUGHT ENGLISH!" This was a solid base from which his career could be projected forward.

Winston entered Sandhurst, embarking on his military career around March 1895 and serving in various campaigns.

He served as war correspondent for the London Daily Telegraph and the London Morning Post, for which he covered the Boers War when he was taken prisoner, until his escape (1899) brought him to the attention of the world at large.

The escape from the Boers (led by Louis Botha, who was later to become a personal friend of his) made Churchill an international figure and the United States lecture tour which followed earned him a handsome £10,000 (sterling) -- a lot of money in the pre-1900 years. This helped finance the start of his political career, which, however, was marred by an unsuccessful first attempt as a Conservative candidate in an 1898 by-election in Oldham.

He had a long and exciting political career, which lasted almost till his death.

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Sir Winston Churchill - Parliamentary Career

Winston Churchill's parliamentary career spanned over the reign of six British sovereigns, between 1901 and 1964.

Following his early disappointment, Mr. Churchill contested again as a Conservative Party candidate in 1900 and this time he was elected to parliament. His powerful personality and strong sense of direction, however, soon brought him at odds with his party until, in 1904, he crossed the aisle and joined the Liberals. He remained a Liberal Member of Parliament until 1922, representing NW Manchester between 1906-1908 and Dundee thereafter.

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Famous Words
Churchill Calendar in Office

1906-08	As a Liberal, he was appointed Under Secretary of State for the Colonies.   In 1907, Churchill visited Malta.
1908-10	His first real cabinet appointment; Churchill was made President of the Board of Trade. During these years, he introduced legislation for social benefits (old age pensions as well as health and unemployment insurance).
1910-11	As Home Secretary, Winston Churchill worked at furthering his efforts at the Trade Board, to pass the Acts that provided for the organization of trade.
1911-15	Now appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, Churchill went to work at reorganizing the Royal Navy and modernising her fleet. By the advent of WW1 in 1914, which some say he foresaw, British naval vessels had been changed from steam to oil-fuelled, thereby confining the nation's enemy ships to base. Winston Churchill was also responsible for creating a 'war staff' and for the setting up of the Royal Flying Corps, whose involvement in the failed Dardanelles campaign, made him the scapegoat and lost him Parliament's favour. He was, therefore, excluded from any cabinet posts for two years.
1916	Churchill rejoined the Army and went to the front, where he was given command of the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers.
1919-21	Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, recalled him to Britain and appointed him Minister of Munitions, responsible for the production of weapons. World War 1 was now over.
1921-22	As Secretary of State for War, Churchill worked on the development of the country's Air Force. He also introduced various military reforms.
1922-24	Appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies.
1924	Winston Churchill fell out with the Liberal Party, in part owing to his anti-Socialist sentiments which alienated him from the party's left wing sympathizers. Although unpopular even with the Conservatives, he returned as a member of parliament for the Epping division of Essex as a Constitutionalist supporter of the Conservatives.
1924-29	Appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, now a Conservative M.P., Churchill was responsible for post-WW1 finances, involving war debt and duties on industry. He introduced 5 consecutive budgets in parliament.
1929-39	No cabinet appointments; Churchill dedicated this time to writing and speculating about the dangers ahead.
1939-40	At the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, it became evident that Winston Churchill's predictions following the Munich Pact (when most of Czechoslovakia was conceded to Hitler in the false hope of securing peace in the rest of Europe) were early warnings which had gone unheeded! Mr. Churchill was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, now that England (and France) had declared war on Hitler, for parliament could see that the nation was far from being ready for armed conflict.
May 1940	British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, resigned from his post while Hitler continued to consume chunks of the European continent; having already invaded Poland on September 1st, 1939, then Norway, Denmark and the Low Countries during the course of 1940. Winston Churchill was the obvious choice for Prime Minister in these trying times for Britain. On June 22nd, 1940, France officially surrendered to the Nazi army, although a Free French Force continued to fight on till the end. Now Churchill was alone; Britain had to make it one way or another. And the burden was on him.
1940-45	On May 10th, 1940, aged 65, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of Britain while also assuming the roles of First Lord of the Treasury and Minister of Defence. With nothing to offer the nation but "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat," the man worked around the clock; leading his coalition government, visiting bombed sites, strategizing and often being the vital link between United States President Roosevelt and Soviet dictator Stalin. On May 7th, 1945, came Germany’s unconditional surrender and with it ‘Victory in Europe’ or what is known as "V-E Day". The British people, bruised and tired by the ugly war, called for general elections and as Churchill’s name supposedly became synonymous with the type of government experienced during the past 5 years, he was replaced by a Labour prime minister, Clement Atlee.
1945-51	Churchill was now leader of the opposition and, although dejected to a degree, embarked on a campaign to warn western democracies of the Soviet threat, fostering the concept of European Unity and global support towards the United States of America. N.A.T.O. was one such unity that Mr. Churchill championed.
1951-55	At the age of 77, Winston Churchill was re-elected as Britain’s prime minister, also holding the office of First Lord of the Treasury. In 1953, he was knighted and that same year received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
1955-65	In 1955, Sir Winston retired from public life, but remained a back-bencher as, in his own words, he was "…a child of the House of Commons." In January 1965, he passed away, but his spirit never will.

 

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