Synopsis
The man credited with leading the nation to victory in the Second World War was, according to Walden, arrogant, callous and a military strategist of very modest talent. However, he also argues that the leader, who remained firm in his beliefs even when he found himself isolated, inspired a nation to shake off its defeatist outlook.
- Programme: Walden on Heroes
- Episode: 01: Winston Churchill
- Channel: BBC Two
- Broadcast year: 1998
Licence: ERA Licence required
Free to watch for UK schools, colleges and universities with an ERA Licence
UK only
Staff and students of licensed education establishments only
Cannot be adapted
Add Notes
More clips from Walden on Heroes
02: Abraham Lincoln | Walden on Heroes
02: Abraham Lincoln | Walden on Heroes
Brian Walden contends that the civil-war president did not, as is popularly believed, devote his life to a fight to abolish slavery. B...
03: Alexander the Great | Walden on Heroes
03: Alexander the Great | Walden on Heroes
Brian Walden examines Alexander the Great's reputation as the hero's hero and claims that it doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. H...
04: John F Kennedy | Walden on Heroes
04: John F Kennedy | Walden on Heroes
Young and talented, JFK embodied a new spirit of optimism in postwar America and his assassination in 1963 immortalised him as a politi...
05: Nelson Mandela | Walden on Heroes
05: Nelson Mandela | Walden on Heroes
The series ends controversially as Brian Walden claims that Nelson Mandela does not deserve to be regarded as a hero. While admiring Ma...
06: Mahatma Gandhi | Walden on Heroes
06: Mahatma Gandhi | Walden on Heroes
Gandhi did more than drive the British out of India using "passive resistance". He also fought for better conditions for workers, persu...
More resources about World War II
S01E04: Hiroshima | Days That Shook the World
S01E04: Hiroshima | Days That Shook the World
Documentary recalling 6 August 1945, when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, with testimony from American colonel Paul Tib...
01: Advance Britannia | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain
01: Advance Britannia | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain
Andrew Marr revisits Britain in 1945 and finds the country victorious but nearly bankrupt, beginning a battle...
Hiroshima
Hiroshima
Dramatic reconstruction of the devastating impact of the first atomic bomb to be used against people on the citizens of Hiroshima.
Dunkirk (2017)
Dunkirk (2017)
Hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops find themselves in an impossible situation. Christopher Nolan's epic wartime action thriller.
08: Their Finest Hour | Battlefield Britain
08: Their Finest Hour | Battlefield Britain
Peter and Dan Snow take an in-depth look at the battles that shaped our nation. The Battle of Britain was the pivotal air battle ...
08: Pearl Harbour to Hiroshima | Twentieth Century History
08: Pearl Harbour to Hiroshima | Twentieth Century History
On 7th December 1941, Japanese planes bombed the US fleet at Pearl Harbour. Programme looks at what caused Japan t...
S02E03: Attack on Pearl Harbor | Days That Shook the World
S02E03: Attack on Pearl Harbor | Days That Shook the World
The 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, which changed world history.
Darkest Hour (2017)
Darkest Hour (2017)
As the Nazis advance against Britain's European allies, newly elected prime minister Winston Churchill must decide whether to leave neighbouring countrie...
The Era of the Second World War: 03: The Home Front | History File
The Era of the Second World War: 03: The Home Front | History File
The Home Front examines the extent of the changes bought about by the strains and dangers of bombing, fami...
German youth | The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler
German youth | The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler
Hitler targeted the German youth, he wanted to indoctrinate them with Nazi ideology as early as possible.
The Era of the Second World War: 01: The Drift to War | History File
The Era of the Second World War: 01: The Drift to War | History File
A schools programme providing an analysis of the major causes of the Second World War.
20: Genocide | The World at War
20: Genocide | The World at War
This edition recounts Himmler's plans to realise Hitler's vision of a pure Aryan Germany. Narrated by Laurence Olivier.
06: Why Appeasement? | Twentieth Century History
06: Why Appeasement? | Twentieth Century History
A look back at at the inter war years and the events leading up to the Second World War. The programme also examines the dip...
What Happened at Hiroshima | What Happened at..?
What Happened at Hiroshima | What Happened at..?
On the 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Jordan Dunbar hears from the only people who have ever ex...
05: The Road to Treblinka | Nazis: A Warning from History
05: The Road to Treblinka | Nazis: A Warning from History
Documentary showing how the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 was a crucial catalyst for the radicalis...
14: 1945: Fallout | People's Century
14: 1945: Fallout | People's Century
Nuclear weapons make the world more dangerous than ever before. The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 by atom bombs is haile...
Episode 2 | D-Day: The Last Heroes
Episode 2 | D-Day: The Last Heroes
The concluding part of historian Dan Snow's documentary series tells the powerful and heroic stories of those who risked their lives on th...
Episode 5 | World War II: Behind Closed Doors
Episode 5 | World War II: Behind Closed Doors
The story of the Red Army's fight through Eastern Europe in 1944, as well as the behind the scenes history of the most famous A...
S05: Two Cities at War: E01 | A House Through Time
S05: Two Cities at War: E01 | A House Through Time
David meets the residents of two apartment blocks in London and Berlin. From the ashes of World War I, the Nazi Party emer...
04: Alone | The World at War
04: Alone | The World at War
Britain is alone after Dunkirk and facing the Germans across the English Channel. The outlook is grim.
More from Brian Walden
02: Saddam Hussein | Walden on Villains
02: Saddam Hussein | Walden on Villains
Walden argues that the west's demonisation of Saddam Hussein has only helped strengthen his position in Iraq.
02: Abraham Lincoln | Walden on Heroes
02: Abraham Lincoln | Walden on Heroes
Brian Walden contends that the civil-war president did not, as is popularly believed, devote his life to a fight to abolish slavery. B...
03: Nero | Walden on Villains
03: Nero | Walden on Villains
Nero can be seen as the archetypal villain. He murdered his two wives and mother, subjected the Christians to gruesome persecution and burned d...
04: Machiavelli | Walden on Villains
04: Machiavelli | Walden on Villains
Today, the name of Niccolo Machiavelli is usually invoked to condemn cynical and ruthless acts of self-interest, especially in politics....
05: Stalin | Walden on Villains
05: Stalin | Walden on Villains
A look at Joseph Stalin , leader of Soviet Russia and the biggest mass murderer in history, who ordered the deaths of 22 million people but w...