Who Awarded Winston Churchill WW2 Campaign Medals?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill rightfully received a deluge of awards from Britain and other countries following WWII, including, perhaps less rightfully, no fewer than six British campaign stars and medals. Research shows that Churchill did not meet the award criteria for any of the six WWII medals, so how did he obtain them? Was Britain's most famous leader guilty of the modern misdemeanour called "Stolen Valour"?
Dr. Mark Felton is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.o...
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Credits: GrafVonEbbell; Robert Prummel; Fdutil; Gentlemen's Military Interest Club; Imperial War Museum; Col. Andre Kritzinger
"The only thing they have ever stormed is the eat all you can buffet"
Mark Felton dropping some absolute cold lines
"soon to be unemployed government minister"
holy shit, Dr Felton you are cranking them out today
“Spud-faced losers.”
Love that line.
3:23 is honorable colonel in the Reserves. His knowledge of survival skills could actually be useful in training civilians if a war broke out, so I say he deserves his appointment.
@@oslonorway547 Only when there's a 5 star hotel nearby for him to go shower and sleep in before the next day's filming.
Whether Churchill "deserved" all of those campaign medals, I am not qualified to say. However, I do believe Churchill deserved a medal for having to put up with Charles de Gaulle for all that time.
I guess that's why they give him to Croix de Guerre!
Agreed, and maybe it was his way of mocking the various others he encountered who would do the same, like Stalin?
I believe the reverse should also have been true. Imagine having to be regularly within breathing distance of a man with the drinking and smoking habits of Winston Churchill. that should have earned you an award all of it's own.
@@MarkFeltonProductions Grrrrrr!
THAT IS UNEQUIVOCALLY TRUE! I was alive when Charles de Gaulle was president of FRANCE and he most definitely was a pompous excrement evacuator sphincter.
Hey, hold on….I was awarded my first set of wings by a TWA stewardess when I was six, and 46 years later I still can’t take off and land an airplane.
I got a silver plastic pair from TCA for flying on a Viscount.
I ended up working for them for 34 years!
I got mine in 1961, aged 13, from a TAA stewardess on a Viscount flight from Melbourne to Hobart.
As I understand it, military units are eager to have the Premier of their Nation as an Honorary Officer, or a Royal Family member. Also I thought that any GI who was "In Theatre" got the Campaign Medal . . . shouldn't a visiting Prime Minister rate one ?
I witnessed the other extreme of seeing some innocent workman being accused of “stolen valor” because he was wearing US Army camouflage pants.
This worker was up on a ladder installing a sign when an elderly man was yelling at him for wearing the pants.
“Will you leave me alone? My brother was in the reserves and gave me these. They’re comfortable for work. It’s not like I’m wearing medals for f*** sake!”
Old bastard doesn't know what stolen valor is. Wear all the fatigues you want. Hell, if it's the medal of a family member that died in combat, I could even look the other way if they want to wear one of their medals, so long as they're honest about where they got it.
Yea that's really cringe when people equate camo pants or generic fatigues as stolen valor. If you're wearing rank/medals/ribbons then yes that could be seen as stolen valor depending on the context but Camo obviously doesn't count.
It could be considered a bit extra if you go all out in military boots and all, but again without a rank attached it's not stolen valor. When I was a kid I would hike in such gear, with a WW2 helmet to boot.
Ha! :-D
combats and army boots are sturdy and cheap to wear for work... period!
Combat uniforms are durable, utilitarian, and for the most part, comfortable. I've seen many a blue-collar worker wearing them, especially the pants. Prior to joining the Army, I had a bunch of military surplus, and before I shipped for training, I sold most of it at the flea market. I found that I couldn't give away BDU blouses, but the trousers were always in demand. Just before I retired, I bought a couple of extra pairs of Improved Hot Weather Combat Uniform (IHWCU) trousers for my own use, along with one spare jacket. I only had one set I wore my last year or so in, but those are nice, so I wanted to ensure I had backups. I probably have 30+ combat uniforms, plus cold and wet weather gear (BDU, DCU, Multicam, OCP). If I choose to wear it, so be it. I won't be wearing my sewn-up uniform components, but if I did, it's all stuff I earned.
If I see some guy on the street wearing some surplus pants, cool. He's obviously smart, knowing they'll last longer than most clothes and cost much less than so-called "premium" workwear.
My grandad killed thousands in the war. He was a cook.
Thank you for your service.
Like the guy that was responsible for downing 27 axis aircraft; he was the worst mechanic in the entire Luftwaffe.
"He was in the Catering Corps"--Sybil Fawlty, undercutting Basil's threat.
🤣.......I thankyou👏👏
@@peterkerr4019 My grand dad was a kamikaze pilot.
He flew 30 successful missions.
My grandfather had polio and had to walk in leg braces. He drove voluntarily drove ammo trucks as a civilian around Britain. He got no medals and had no right to wear any… but for years he risked his life in the only way that he could to do his bit for the country. I think that’s the definition of state stolen valor.
he did his bit
🫡 to your granddad. 🫡
Did every factory worker get metals?
@@WiseOwl_1408 oh I get it, oh my goodness I am glad I am not you❤️
@@WiseOwl_1408….. They got a PayCheck instead. GrandDad was a Volunteer
My dad was a Spitfire pilot in WWII. He spoke very little of his experiences and I never saw any ribbons or medals. The joystick from his last plane however was uncermoniously stored in the garden shed after he was demobbed. Us kids played air battles with it. He supported Churchill and the only time I ever witnessed him visibly moved was watching Churchill's funeral on our little black and white telly.
Oh, he used to joke that his official air force photo in his RAF uniform said he felt like a "bus conductor" in it but that the bus conductors did a far more important job than him. I loved that about him.
I appreciate the illumination of these facts. With power comes generous benefits it would appear.
yes , many bus conductors - and drivers - killed or injured by bombs and many had to drive in the blackout including doubling up as reserve ambluence drivers and so on, such is war planning
Many men like my late father only accepted Medals that included a Cash payment.
Wow, your Dad was a real bloody hero. A knight of the air. Reading your post, I detect a tinge of sadness that he didn’t tell you more. Only one of my Granddads survived the war. He too didn’t talk about it. Neither did my Nan who survived the Coventry Blitz in November 1940. Over two nights the city was destroyed and she lost 36 members of her family. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and sisters. She too never said a word, save, her insistence right up until her last year, in going to the mass grave on Remembrance Sunday, to read the names of her entire family on that marble. She lost my Granddad at the end of the war. A survivor of Dunkirk, where he was severely injured, jumped on D-Day and received his fatal injury at Arnhem.
They were a special breed. Our finest generation.
I believe your father was entitled to wear at least three medals if he served as a pilot in the RAF during the war a simple search on Google will let you know
A rare trait,humble. My kind of hero.
In America, we have US Senators that lie about being in combat and still get elected, lol. Thanks for the interesting video Dr Mark!
Hillary Clinton and "journalist" Matt Lauer too!
We have senators that use their commissions in the reserves or National Guard to don a uniform on visits to the war zone and demanding to go out on patrol (thus qualifying for the combat ribbons). Yes Senator Graham, I'm talking about you.
And we have Presidents (bone spurs trump) that accuse actual War heroes (John McCain) of being "losers"
I’ll never forget Bush Jr. wearing a flight suit -codpiece and all. Declaring “Mission Accomplished.”
Or Bidens son dying in combat in Iraq. Seems the Iraqis had some sort of cancer gun.
I don’t think he stole any of this “valour” but accepted what was offered by the King in very exceptional circumstances.
Catering is the most important job!
....yet no one has ever passed the course.....
You have to be tough, to make British cooking taste good.
But they would delivery one hot meal a day to the front line. Brave!
Cabbage Mechanics are "Super Human!" It takes the human body, roughly 12 hours to turn food into crap.... It takes the Catering Corp 12 minutes 😳😲😂🤣
@@sailordude2094 Xmas 2008, they flew in chefs and supplies for xmas dinner, tasted not bad, but having been on rations for 2 months, the result was a queue in front of the thunder boxes as the fresh had gone through us like a race horse !
During the Vietnam war, the Australian Army regularly sent senior officers on the 'Saigon Express' so they would qualify for two campaign medals - this required only being in-country for a day. So it was fly in, have a few drinks in the hotel bar and then fly out the next morning safe and sound while clutching two ill-gotten (but legitimate) gongs in their manicured hands.
it's a cruel world.
Very true. But it also qualified them for a higher benefit Vet Medical Card as well after service.
I met one of the stewardesses on one of the first chartered flights that took nervous Australian soldiers to Saigon. Being a civil airliner the pilot was apparently worried about the soldiers all having guns with them, and asked the (18-year old) stewardess to make an announcement asking them to take care. Quite innocently she announced over the loudspeaker "We understand that you are holding something unusually powerful and dangerous between your legs, and we ask that you grasp it firmly during take-off and landing" or something similar. The whole plane descended into uproar and laughter.
Things were much more subdued on the return flights apparently.
This was still happening as recently as 2003 - a deployment that I was on had to stop random officers turning up on semi-official trips for a day to get a gong. Thankfully this was shut down pretty quickly once the hierarchy got wind of what was going on.
@@aaronpower5726 War service home loan and war service pension for their wife after the die too .
Something similar occurred among US commanders during the Balkans IFOR/SFOR era. The commanders would fly into the theater on the 30th of the month and return on the 2nd. Under US DOD regs, that would count as "two months" (roughly one day each month), thus qualifying them for hazardous duty pay for both months and partial income tax relief.
Churchill's escape from the Boers deserves its own story.
It not only, did get a story but was made into a movie.
@@chrismac2234 pretty sure I read his own account, but what was the film called?
It's in a movie called Young Winston
You mean, how he was part of an escape plan and became inpatient and left the other officers high and dry. He wanted the glory and took off without them. They never forgave him for that.
He was press, non combatant, they legally had to let him go. He made it sound like he was a hero.
My Dad was always joking that he organised the refreshments for the troops so that as they breached the enemy lines, there he was in his caravan with a hot pot of tea and biscuits. He was proud to have served as a private from 1939 to Captain 1946 in the RASC.
Having served in the U.S. Marine Corps, I would be more upset with a TV personality being awarded a Colonelcy and me being made to stand at attention and kiss their arse than WC who was a tough old bird. He seemed more of a "hands on" planner than just a PM.
Don't forget, old Winston was a seasoned combat veteran in his own right. Those empire campaigns weren't "boy scouts". They were tough campaigns against skilled and determined foes who took many British soldiers lives.
Rather too much so in the "hands-on" sense, but otherwise I agree with you. (Speaking as a 100% civilian, for the record.)
and for that we got the Gallipoli campaign
Most honorary colonels aren’t tv celebs. Ours was Prince Edward. Before we deployed to Afghanistan we met him about 6 or 7 times, formally and in the field. He presented us with our medals when we came back and had a few pints with us after the ceremony. He couldn’t be persuaded to stay once he found out there was a stripper booked for later.
Well said. Having a TV personality wear Marine dress blues would be infuriating
It's not stolen valour if the award is properly awarded by the correct authorities. You could say he didn't earn those awards, but they were awarded legitimately.
Kelly Holmes had a long British Army career, so she has a track record.
she served in the WRAC and AGC from 1988 to 1997
Good pun!
Boom, Tchhhh!
Wasn't she also one of the most hated people in the Army, a PTI Sergeant.
She served in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia during her time in the British Army, although I don't know whether it was long enough to earn one of the NATO/UN Medals dished out for that operation. That and N Ireland were about the only two things going on in the 1990s (after the Gulf War) one could earn a medal for, until Kosovo, Kuwait/Turkey and Sierra Leone kicked off later on in that decade.
Bear Grylls may be a tv personality and an honorary Colonel, but he’s also ex-special forces. His military career ended when he fell 16000 feet in freefall and broke his back after his parachute didn’t open.
I'm supposing he landed on his back on the parachute bag for cushioning, crazy how he survived
My friend did that and turned his knees and teeth into a hundred small pieces on a large rock. Still alive, on his fourth divorce. Human body is amazingly durable. On a side-note, women are far more fatal to soldiers than even falling out of the sky.
Thank you for this information. As a kid in the 50s, I was told of someone else having survived such a fall in WWII. I’ve since learned of others. Amazing!
@@mathewgurney2033you speak the truth dear friend.
All 3 of the examples of honorary colonels (Grylls, Holmes and Mordaunt) have all actually served in the military proper at some point so not the best examples to have used!!!
Sorry Dr Felton, but I think you’ve missed two points here. Firstly, the King is the Fons Honorum, the fount of honour. Which means it’s his discretion as to whether a medal is awarded, over that of the actual eligibility criteria. So if King George VI gave Churchill his medals, then they were legitimately presented, even if they didn’t meet the criteria.
Secondly, the role of the sovereign as commander-in-chief is not a titular position, but a legal one. Whilst the monarch does not oversea the day to day running of the forces (as I am led to understand that being sovereign is a rather busy one), they do still exercise authority over them. For example, on the occasion of the Coronation of Charles III, the order was given to the Royal Navy, from the king, to splice the mainbrace, which entails the drinking of grog during the working day. The consumption of alcohol during the working day is usually banned in standing orders, and many ships don’t drink whilst at sea. The recognition by service personnel of the legitimacy of this order indicates that the position of the monarch as head of the armed forces is not just titular.
dr Felton was really reaching with this one.
Agreed. Plus the monarch, on the advice of ministers, is the only person legally entitled to declare war or peace. Albeit that the prime minister is the one who makes the decision.
Had Churchill been a lesser man all of Europe would likely be speaking German now. Along with a fair chunk of the rest of the world. The King gave just recognition of that.
To be fair, he did come under fire a number of times in Europe while visiting troops and he had at least been a soldier.
or...one could say, the troops came under fire because Churchill exposed himself to the enemy to glad hand, putting everyone around him in peril.
@@arseniclullaby fair too if accurate. It was all out war. I think it would be expected to come under fire when visiting front lines by sheer probability alone.
Also, if Germany would have known the location of Churchill and it being within striking distance, they would've thrown everything at it. I assume, we'd know if something like that had occurred. But that is just an assumption, just like yours.
Besides all that, even if Churchill got soldiers in danger by visiting somewhere, then
a) those visits were huge moral boosts. I'd bet most soldiers would still prefer to meet the man, even if it increased the risk they were exposed too. People weren't that cynical back then as today;
b) t's not like he was anyways already sending thousands to their death. Focussing aggression to one spot would relieve other spots, so the net damage would've probably close to nil;
c) let's say, it was just eccentric theatrics - if that's what you get with a leader like Churchill, then that's what you get. He was one of the major reasons for the allied success. He was the right guy, at the right place, at the right time.
@kayjay135 as far as A. I think it would depend on which vet you ask, if they'd be willing to risk death for no strategic reason, just to meet Churchill. and what about the people who weren't going to meet him? If they'd have thrown everything at him ( like they did when they knew where Patton was) a whole lot of people who were just in the area would have been killed...again for no strategic purpose.
B. That's a pretty cynical way of looking at things, haha. I doubt that he considered any of that, and if he sat down and said "well, the amount of death would be a zero sum change, so I'm going to go visit because my very presence will boost moral." then it must have been one of the many occasions he made decisions while drunk.
C.I fail to see how he was a major reason for the Allies success, even though I hear that all the time. His contribution was getting help before being forced to surrender. Germany was never going to beat Russia's overwhelming manpower, and it was never going to be able to keep up with the U.S.'s industrial production. It was simply too small of a country. The war was over when it extended to Russia and the U.S. At that point If you removed Britain entirely from the equation the end result would still have been a defeated and destroyed germany.
@@arseniclullabyHow would they know he was there?
@@arseniclullaby A) fair point.
B) lol, I didn't even catch the irony there. It is kinda cynical, but in the way military leaders need to be cynical, because troops ultimately are a resource in strategic terms.
I don't know whether he thought about that. It would suit him to question himself, but as it's a given, that any leader should oversee in literal terms their endeavors and as it's a given, that a man at least take a look for himself at the hell, he's sending other men into, I'd bet together with you, that he did not consider any such things as plenty of other seemingly trivial decisions of his had equally or more dire outcomes for some unfortunate souls.
C) I'd have to study more about the situation, to give a qualified answer, but off the top of my head I imagine, that his early and firm stance against Hitler's take-over of half of Europe had a significant impact on how Germany couldn't just be done with the western front that quickly; plus while Germany would have been ultimately defeated at some point by the US and Soviet Union, I don't think it's a given, that the Soviets would have ended with the defeat of the axis powers. But I do not have sufficient knowledge to make any serious suggestion.
Anyways, thanks for responding!
Now Hitler, on the other hand, there was a painter. He could paint an entire apartment in one afternoon! Two coats!
Did you know, I never knew that the Third Reich meant Germany.
Someone asked him to paint their Porshe. He painted their Ferrari when he went into their garage to get the paint and Brushes.
😂😂 👍
Producer’s references are always a treat.
😆
To be absolutely fair, I think Churchill deserved his 6 campaign medals. There is no doubt he was under severe threat of assassination at all times. He was also in command of the entire war effort.
As a US Naval aviator I have no problem with Churchill or the King wearing medals to rally their troops and country. From a legalistic standpoint everything in the video is true but what Churchill and the King 17:25 did, exceeded their ally counterparts. The both men were extraordinary in many ways although not perfect. The world owes both its gratitude for a job well done with symbolic medals earned.
well said!
very well said! ;)
Well said! Hear! Hear!
You're saying the king of England contributed more to the war effort than the King of the United States or the King of France?
This is an astonishing revelation!
As for "well my house has just been blitzed to oblivion, but at least I saw the King wearing some medals yesterday, hooray!" ... I don't think your aviation credentials qualify you very well as an historian ... just based on the evidence here ...
@@AdamFordGhostshipsOK little ray of sunshine...
In the vast scheme of things, as a rallying point Churchill fulfilled a role that he fitted perfectly.
He had many failings and strategically errors occurred on a massive scale.
My father witnessed him being booed during a visit to Glasgow.
But..... cometh the hour, cometh the man- he did deliver the victory he promised - and if he collected a few extra decorations - my father's generation did not seem to mind and they were the ones that mattered - not people with the benefit of hindsight.....
Felton provides good, well researched information as usual, but in his zeal to go after Churchill, fails to consider Churchill's perspective - - a grateful king offers honours, and he's supposed to answer "Yah, no, thanks anyway"? Accepting the gift honours the giver.
Bro if it wherent for him we wldnt have been in a war .
@@Crosshatch1212 Please explain that.
@@quintrankid8045 Second that… this will be interesting
Then there's the Bengal Famine.
This isn’t a case of ‘stolen Valour’ if he was awarded them. If he bought them privately and wore them without being awarded them, then that would be stolen valour.
I never thought I would hear Mark Felton say, "Blah, blah, blah" in one of his videos. Made me laugh out loud.
Churchil fought at ondurman egypt he was in the boer war and the great war the best pm.this country's ever had he also got the commandos and paras formed
You know. He just might be the only human Englishman in history!
Churchill being a veteran and being so integral to the prosecution of WWII, I don’t have a problem with him wearing those medals.
I don't either, its the blind adherence to him being a god-like figure who saved the world and fought the bosch by himself alone that irks me, there's no evidential or historical basis for it.
Agreed, Scott....he was a brilliant man who worked very hard dealing with so many problems with so much stress....it would have killed a lesser man imho....he did much for the UK & the world & to a certain extent, people are not grateful for his service...he did not have to do it, it was his duty...so I do not begrudge him his foibles, drink, good food & his medals...never has so much been done by one man & unappreciated by so many....
Just remember "stolen honour" is when you award yourself the medals. In the case of the airman's wings, it would appear that Churchill did not award himself the wings, the King did. Even though this is an unusual case, as medals and honours are done in the King's name, it would stand as a legitimate award and Churchill would be fully entitled to wear them.
An "honorary Colonel"?! Is that like a Kentucky Colonel, just with less fried chicken?
Basically - It all goes back to the early army of the 17th and 18th centuries. Rich Lords would raise regiments for the king, and would be their colonel. They would then appoint a Lieutenant Colonel to actually run the regiment. This is why today Battalions (which are the successor to the pre-caldwell reform regiments which were all single Battalion (Battalion being the name of the line companies with the specialist flank companies forming the other part of the regiment)) (and regiments in the non-infantry arms) are led by Lieutenant Colonels, not full Colonels. The practice of having the honourary colonel that isn’t around but is in theory the head of the regiment and uses the regiment for political and military prestige remains.
@@frozzie108 interesting! Thank for explaining that. So not like a “Kentucky Colonel” and the fried chicken might be there, depending on the Lt Colonel’s taste and the budget he’s given.
and no smell of chicken grease on his clothed.
I am a “Kentucky Colonel” and was awarded the honorary title from the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky just for being a member of the crew of the USS Kentucky (SSBN 737). It is a very nice certificate and comes with a history of the Kentucky Colonels, which is now a non-profit organization. That title and 50 bucks will get me a nice bottle of bourbon!
@@frankkorfias7874 I worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken as as a teenager. But I think my rank was roughly equivalent to a Private. 😁
I would begrudge Winston Churchill less for “stolen valour” than most politicians then and now. Churchill did attend Sandhurst and was commissioned as a British officer. He lead in combat and was recognized for bravery. As prime minister he was, after all, directly involved in military decision making especially early in WW2. Yes some of his meddling resulted in poor outcomes like Greece but he also had direct input into other decisions that turned out pretty well, like replacing Auchinleck with Montgomery. Churchill’s decisions did have direct influence on the prosecution of the war on a strategic and occasionally on an operational level. He shouldered immense responsibility and contributed greatly towards the Allied victory. Yes he’s guilty of showboating but he demonstrated authentic valour, perhaps borrowing some rather than stealing any.
The bravery of this man bordered on the reckless all his life. He flew thousands of miles around the world during the war, being the most important target there was. He deserves everything he ever wore and after all, don't our royal family wear every uniform in the book too?
Civilians have and still are entitled to military medals for 'service in theatre’. As a civilian technical officer serving on board Royal Fleet Auxiliary supply ship during 1st gulf war I, along with all the other civilian staff on board, was awarded The Gulf medal 1990-91 and a General Service Medal N. Iraq & South Turkey. Any civilian serving in a war zone is still entitled to campaign medals if they fit the required criteria.
In the United States our DOD civilians have their own service medals.
If the King gave the medals to Churchill, then it's not stolen valour. It's out of the ordinary for sure. Thats my opinion.
All honours were granted by and in the name of the King, so he had the right to bypass the normal rules.
Wherever he is WC, is laughing about this!
He had the right to decline. M
Being awarded them by the king, and choosing to wear them are two different things.
@@jimbeckley872 How can words be awarded as valour, only actions are such
Am an American and I’ve always have had a great deal of respect for prime minister Churchill. The war in Europe ended in May 8th 1945.
I never understood how he was not re-elected in July 1945. It was as if he became expendable after going through as prime minister during war in Europe.
A bit like general Patton.
• Do I consider these medals as stolen valor?
No
i agree, since WC was retired from the military, + being PM, any awards or medals he wore would by NATURE be honorary. thus the medals could NOT count as stolen valour.
I agree and perhaps we are taking today's definition of stolen valor and reflecting it upon Mr. Churchill. Maybe or not he lobbied the King for the wings but he was a remarkable man, and may I say we forget he was half American as his mother Jenny was born here in the States, in Brooklyn of all places!
There was alot of US military personnel receiving campaign medal just for visiting a war zone for a few days. I received a medal just for serving on a ship, that floated around the Pacific for 6months. As a civilian I think there should be a medal for dealing with customers.
Remember that day, 5 years back, when I faced down that raging Karen, with her dumbass Kevin sniping over her shoulder?
The Karen medal.
I got the National Defense ribbon because I was in the military just before the Vietnam war ended. I never did one damn thing to earn it.... other than enlist while the war was still going on. It's not like you can reject it, as it's in your records and required to be worn for official photographs.
@@theophrastus3.056 NDSM. I was awarded two of them. It was called the "Gedunk Medal" in the US Navy. They stopped awarding those to recruits as of January 2023.
You would have got a purple heart if it 'didn't float' around for 6 months!
Stolen Valor King: L.Ron Hubbard!
You got that right!
Didn’t he attack Mexico when in the navy
@@tomhenry897 That sounds right; he also had an epic battle with a bunch of logs, or something. Most of his claimed awards didn't exist in that form during his service.
Supreme Admiral For Life of the Sea Org.
He served under Zenu in the intergalactic fleet
Winston deserved every single medal we have available.
The man was a colossus among liliputians,
So much more than the sum of his medals.
My grandson is a near three year old Churchill lookalike. But that is not the only reason Churchill has a special place with me, and I am not blind to his many flaws and downright wrongdoings. But in 1940, the man was there. And it made all the difference that he was.
Stepping up to the occasion when called, is very, very important.
This doesn’t change my opinion of Churchill one bit, it merely adds specificity to a question I’ve always had about him and the costumes he chose. An interesting historical figure in every way. Thank you for your complete examination.
If the king awarded, sir Winston Churchill, these metals, who am I to contest them. 😅
In defense of Churchill; if the King awards you a medal, would it not be insulting to refuse said medal?
Double edged sword. Ignore the monarch you've sworn to serve, or where medals that technically you didn't qualify for.
I tend to lean towards obeying the monarch, as it's basically an order from the very top.
You can then put it on your shelf and then never ever wear it out in public.
Lawrence did.
Knowing Churchill, I wouldn't be surprised if he negotiated with the king for those medals
@@jC-kc4siThat could also be seen as disrespectful, his Monarch ordered that he receive those medals and any thing that implies that he believed himself unworthy of them could be considered being disrespectful of the Monarchy as an institution.
This is not to slam Churchill in any way, but it's interesting to note that two of his counterparts, Stalin and Hitler, who were true warlords, had a more minimalist view of medals and awards.
Stalin famously did not appreciate receiving the title of Generalissimus, and only ever wore his "Hero of the Soviet Union" medal in public. Hitler contented himself with only appearing with his WWI iron cross and party badge if I'm not mistaken.
Hitler wore 3 medals, the third was his wound badge from WW1.
Stalin had an array of orders and campaign medals but you generally only see his hero of the soviet union star in portraits, and sometimes next to his hero of socialist labor badge, but it's interesting he didn't catch brezhnev's habit of awarding himself additional stars, particularly to match zhukov.
As a member of the stavka you can also argue he was legitimately part of the operations he got many of those medals and decorations for.
Interestingly Putin doesn’t style himself military at all despite having a seemingly bottomless thirst for military blood
@@celiacresswell6909 I think Putin must have military-style awards/medals from his time in the KGB - but it's not part of the image he wants to cultivate.
As one commenter noted - Brezhnev's excess created a political precedent to mock (see the amount of jokes about his medals,) I think Putin knows how ridiculous he would look if tried doing the same.
@@celiacresswell6909a bottomless thirst for blood, the propaganda is working well on you
Stalin and Hitler didn't want to be seen by the public as what they were. Military dictators. Them on stage with chests full of medals would have made them look too much like what they were.
Churchill didn't have that concern partially because he wasn't head of state, that's the King, and partially he was a legitimately elected leader.
Normally I have no time for people who wear medals they never earned, but Churchill is different. Whether or not he met the normal criteria, he earned his medals.
Admiral Michael Boorda, Chief of Naval Operations, was so distraught that a newspaper reporter was investigating him for stolen Valor that he committed suicide. It was determined afterward that he was told he could wear the ribbons he wore.
I doubt that was the only reason he took his life. He should never have been CNO with having mental problems to begin with.
@@jimfesta8981 Absolutely. If someone's ready to off himself over a mistake on his "fruit salad" that could be made by anyone there's other things going on with him.
I think he was one of the few Admirals to have started as a seaman. Also started the concept of the Arsenal ship: a ship filled with VLS tubes.
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 Never underestimate the power of stress my friend.
@@SEAZNDragon Oh, far be it from me to underestimate to power of stress, far from it. Still, I have to wonder what Admiral Boorda was stressing out over as a peacetime commander, but what do I know?
And as I remember the whole Boorda "controversy" was due to him mis-applying a "Combat V" to a lesser decoration ribbon. So what if he did? He wouldn't have been the first "heavy" to make a mistake with his ribbons, I can't help but think anyone else would have just laughed it off saying "Man, if you've got as many ribbons as I've got you're bound to mess up! I might even have some high school track and field awards mixed in without realizing it!"
Mark, your grandfather's decorations are impressive.
Thank God for him and all the others like him.
Thanks - he was a soldier for 31 years and told the best stories I've ever heard.
@MarkFeltonProductions
And you tell some of the best stories I have ever heard.
Carry on...
@@MarkFeltonProductionscan I say that your grandfather inspired you to become a historian?
@@MarkFeltonProductions Perhaps an idea for a video?
@@MarkFeltonProductions Well that's a video I'd watch immediatelly. 'War Stories with Grandpa Felton'.
Churchill was a deeply flawed human being, aren't we all? But we were very lucky to have him, the right man, in the right place, at the right time. As you pointed out Mark, his medals were given to him by the King. Part of his motive for wearing them may have been to identify with the troops involved in these campaigns, not to denigrate them. He was the one person that made any of these actions possible, by jutting out his jaw and refusing to compromise with Hitler in 1940. Personally I feel proud to have been born during his lifetime.
i feel extremely greatful to have been able to have been born after his lifetime
i often think would we have won the war without him ?
From what I’ve read Churchill was not just the right man at the right time but played a major role in stopping Hitler and the spread fascism. As England’s wartime leader, he initially fended off Nazi sympathizers within the government to take on Hitler because he knew what Hitler was capable of. And when the chips were down, in my mind it he had a unique ability to rally the English people when Hitler’s troops were practically at its doorstep. It was because of his efforts in reaching out to the US that eventually lead to the D-Day invasion and the end of the war. He was unique and of course had his flaws but had he not been there, the outcome for England and the world might have been vastly different. As an American I may not understand all the cultural intricacies of this issue. But Churchill didn’t have any stolen valor when it came to his character or his deeds. To me, he deserved far more recognition. As for the medals, he didn’t award them to himself. So nothing was “stolen”. Churchill is a hero in my book.
I was proud to attend a school named after him and when there to be asked to make a speech about him.
My schools were near to his family home, Chartwell house. In the woods nearby we used to play in bomb craters. There were no other strategic targets in the area. Given that the Nazis were actively trying to kill him, in my opinion, he was fully entitled to those medals!
Am I the only one who sees the irony that Churchills adversary in Germany would only wear the basic medals he earned in WW1?
There's a tendency in the American armed forces to over -award officers, and the same thing happened in Imperial Germany. He knew that and rubbed that Iron Cross in the faces of the German general staff. They didn't like him much.
Not even all of his medals, just a couple, in addition to his party badge.
Well, as far as dictators go, that other bloke is the only one in modern recorded history who didn't cover himself with all the bling. I read that Idi Amin wore 2 Victoria Crosses on his bloated chest.
@@lunsmann And anybody who pointed that out got to dine with the crocodiles.😁
@@NormanMStewartfunny seeing you here
Dame Kelly Holmes is pictured wearing the ribbons for Dame Commander Order of the British Empire (Civil) (left) and MBE (Military) - though she didn't qualify for any campaign medals, she did serve 11 years in the army, with WRAC and Adjutant Generals' Corps, reaching the rank of Sergeant and being a PTI while competing for some of her early athletics achievements.
I have no issue with Churchill wearing the medals he did - I doubt very much any of the people who had gone through WWII with him would begrudge him wearing them either.
"If you where my husband, I'd poison your cake!" an angry woman said to Churchill during tea.
"Madam, if you where my wife, I would eat it!" he replied.
I like that man 👍
Or... One day FDR caught Churchill sneaking out of Elanor's bedroom. FDR rolled up to him, waved his cigarette in it's holder and said "Now now Winston, I'll have no more of that". Churchill responded "...and neither shall I!"
@@jehl1963 : 👍
Also to Bessy Braddock. "Sir you are drunk". Churchill replied" you madam are ugly but I will be sober in the morning"
@@jasperpike242 👍
Kelly Holmes was in the army for 10 years before her double Olympic gold medal triumph made her a national treasure.
I had no idea! I see she was the British Army Judo champion and ended up as a sergeant. Well I never.
And Bear was with 21 SAS before a bad parachuting accident
poor research by Felton
Now, will this be responded to or disappear, or be sandbagged perhaps?
@@jphanks Not exactly.
Laughing is rare for a Mark Felton video but storming the "all you can eat" buffet. That was funny.
Some call the keyboard commandos storm the all you can eat buffet the Gravy Seals.
I guess I laughed the loudest when I heard that storming the all you can eat buffet ever since I watched Dr. Felton’s videos
Semper Fry!
But I received my Knight Commander of the Order of Golden Corral from General Tso himself! (*for our friends across the pond, Golden Corral is the name of a buffet chain in the US)
@@KenR1800 The Wikipedia article about Zuo Zongtang AKA General Tso, has this little thing, "In 1875, the Guangxu Emperor made an extraordinary exception by awarding Zuo a jinshi degree - even though Zuo never achieved this in the imperial examination - and appointing him to the Hanlin Academy. " Stolen Academic Valor!
He was an extraordinary man. I put this down to eccentricity because it caused no harm.
After all, he really was a brave soldier.
To me a Stolen Valor person is a candy arse who could not fire a gun, and would cower in fear at the sight of one. Churchill in WW1, and the Boer War was a bad arse. He was a war hero, if he got medals improperly in WW2 was more than likely to inspire troops, and the country. I do not believe soldiers would hold it against him since he was a war hero, already.
It is a terrible video. Only an activist would make it.
@@Art-is-craftWell said
@@Art-is-craftChurchill was a Idiot
You've never done due diligence and your mind has been rotted by propaganda. Churchill is the biggest war criminal of the 20th century.
You're just excusing it because it's Churchill... Are you english or what because churchill was one of the more recent examples of someone in power who really wanted awards and medals so your second to last sentence needs some support.
Well i am Greek and i am aware of the bad decisions Churchill made for Greece and Crete in 1940 and 1941... I am aware about his plans for Greece and Aegean sea in 1943 , 1944 and 1945.
I am thinking that the Germans lost the war in a common effort. This allied effort happened because England and Commonwealth troops fought hard the difficult years of 40 , 41 and 42. The heart of this fight was the common soldier, but the voice and mind that kept this heart beating (in a symbolic but importatant way) was Churchill.
I d like to hear your opinion about this.
Greetings from Athens Greece
You are absolutely right.
British activity in 1940/1941 in North Africa, the Mediterranean and the sending of troops to assist the Greeks against an Italian invasion alerted the Germans to the vulnerability of its southern flank. To deal with that the Germans invaded Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Crete and despatched the Afrika Korps into North Africa before it had even embarked on its ill fated Barbarossa campaign. Within a year, German aggression would be stalling on the approaches to Moscow and with defeat in North Africa. The tide of the war had changed and it had been Churchill's strategy that had sown the seeds for the allied victories that were to follow.
@@dougie1943i totally agree with you. One detail. When Italy attacked Greece in 28/10/1940, Albania was already occupied a year before by Mussolini. My opinion:Without the influencial presence and courage of Churchill, Germans may had win the war in the west since 1941 or 42.
The tide turned because germany was not prepared to fight against the vast forces assembled agaist her and so Germany was destroyed.
As an American who has nothing but complete respect for 'Sir Winston' this was an unpalatable treatment. Critical judgment of a servant of the crown trying to save an Empire in such stressful times. Thank you Dr. Felton, interesting non the less.
I am amused by Mr Felton's ire over the King bending the rules for Mr.Churchhill. He served as PM for the majority of WWII and pushed back on those in the government who would have given up the fight early on. He also went to every theater where he received a campaign star. Additionally his plane was attacked by German fighters, only escaping by the use of a fog bank. Don't get upset with kings when they act like kings!
Churchill was bullshit artist
AFAIK, neither FDR or Truman accepted or wore medals related to WWII. However, Truman served in the Missouri National Guard prior to WWI, and was promoted to Captain and commanded a field artillery battery in France. After WWI, he remained in the army reserves, and was eventually promoted to full Colonel. He remained in the reserves into the early 1940s. His only decorations were related to his service in WWI.
Truman told a good story about himself. When the United States entered WW2 he went to see General George Marshall and ask if he could be put back on active duty. Marshall said "No Senator, I'm afraid you're too old."
"Too old?" said Truman, "General Marshall, you're older than me!"
"That's true Senator, but you forget I'm already in the Army!"
Years pass, Truman becomes vice-president, then president when FDR dies. When General Marshall went to see Truman Harry said "Well General, you think I'm too old for this job too?" All in good fun though!
Churchill in his capacity was a hero to millions (including my grandfather and his brother who served on my fathers side and my grandfather and grandmother on my mothers side and her 2 brothers who served one of which was killed at normandy) and I know for a fact if they were still alive today they would find it both funny and nonsensical that 80yrs later somebody who never lived one day of ww2 would suggest he stole valour.
Stolen valour is a recent term that in its general sense and popular meaning describes people who aquire FAKE medals, uniforms and documents to back up false stories of combat and valour for many reasons but mainly for monetary gain or higher social standing and praise, NONE OF WHICH APPLIES TO CHURCHILL.
Did he make mistakes? Get things wrong? Yes but the man's valour has never been in question, your talking about the man who lead a nation that for a time stood alone against the nazis and was under constant threat/attempts of assassination, when those around him wanted to surrender, (and at one point was within days of the invasion of Britain) nobody can imagine the immense burden or courage and will it must have taken to go on.
There's thousands of examples of key decisions and use of logistics personal risks etc. He went well above and beyond the capacity of prime minister becoming a symbol of defiance resistance and hope for millions around the world many actions they don't give medals for so does it bother me that HE WAS AWARDED a few extra medals with no recorded disapproval from the regiments or the public at the time? No, the only fair and logical way is to judge him by the standards of his time.
Oh, and Churchill wasn't "kicked out of office" he was democratically voted out by a nation that wanted to heal and put the war behind them which is totally understandable, but you never mentioned he was voted back in again!
I get the impression that Churchill isn't one of your favourite historical leaders judging by the underlying narrative of your video? And I get it, if you'd of had the decency and balance to put out the opinion and life experience of the people he was relevant to your "medal thing" would of stood out as petty and insignificant and thats not what you where going for.....
When the king says you get wings, you get wings.
Churchill was an actual pilot. And a chad.
Is this in reference to Mark's comment about the all you can eat buffet? I love some wings hahaha
Redbull gives you wiiings!
John Bull gives you wings
He was an Angel, certainly.
First, I have always thought Churchill a great man and orator. Yet I have never thought of him as a humble man, nor an entirely honest man. Yet without him all Europe would have been lost to the Nazis. Roosevelt would never have helped Great Britain if the Japanese had left well enough alone.
Los to the nazi's you say? Take a look around you and see what Europe has become.. This is what the 'Nazi's' tried to protect us from... If it wassen't for German bravery we would all be speaking Boschjevik...
Roosevelt was already helping Britain long before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. You've never heard of Lend Lease? Or any of the other ways Roosevelt pushed US neutrality as far as it could go to benefit the UK?
'Without him all of Europe would have been lost to the Nazis" Establishment historians and folks like Mark Felton
never tell the truth about ww2 Germany.. The West sided with murdering Bolshviks and had it not been for Germany
pre-emptively attacking the Soviet Union, Europe would have suffered the same kind of bloodbath Russia did..
Churchill was a monster and a war criminal.. He bombed Germans cities like Dresden and he rejected every peace
offers put out by Germany.. History is always written by the winning side..
The US was helping GB before the Japanese got stupid and attacked Pearl Harbor.
Britain, famous for defeating the n**is 😂😂😂😂😂
I wouldn't be too hard on Churchill. The King had wide discretion on honorary Awards and Decorations and I suggest he did not hesitate to give some to WLSC.
I have NEVER seen any American president wear a military medal. There is a pretty good reason for this: The United States President is supposed to be a civilian position. The US military is supposed to work for a civilian president. Wearing medals would remind citizens of banana republics etc.
So were they awarded to them?
Of course, many US Presidents DID serve in the military, but if they had a rank when they were elected, they had to resign their commission. Some of them were awarded medals during their time in service.
And then there's Ike.
At the end of World War II, he had the highest rank you could get in the US Military: he was a 5 star general. There is absolutely no doubt that General Eisenhower's success with Normandy and the European theater made it much Much MUCH easier to win the Presidency, but he he had to (and did) resign from the military to run.
While he was President, he did not receive any medals reserved for the military. He certainly awarded some.
At the end of his second term, he noted that he was more proud of his military career than his presidency and continued to advise the military until his death. He was buried in his military uniform with some extremely prestigious medals, ALL earned during his military tenure before becoming President.
I guess Bush the father was the last decorated president?
So, Commander In Chief is not a military status?
I've never seen a US president wear a military medal as President. Given article II section 2 of the US Constitution:
“The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States . . . .”
I'm not sure your argument is that sound.
George Washington wore his uniform and commanded troops while in office.
@@ShenandoahShelty I think James Monroe also wore a uniform when president but I'm not sure...I think Jackson didn't
Interesting facts. Generals of the Army remain on active duty for life. Ike resigned from the Army on 19 Jan 1953 and was re-instated on active duty on 21 January 1961. George Marshall likewise resigned from the Army to serve as the Secretary of State.
I think it's disgraceful that you should compare any uniform or decoration Churchill wore to the absolutely fraudulent stolen valor.
I think your comment is disgraceful. You should just delete it.
Churchill, once told to 'get on better with de Gaulle' said "Ok ok...I will kiss him on both cheeks, and all four if I Must!"
My maternal Grandad signed up in '39 and got out in '46.
He chucked all his medals in the bin because he "just wanted to forget all about it."
He never spoke a word about what happened during those years.
Reminds me of guys getting sick of hearing “thank you for your service” and just going “please stop calling me a hero” as they’ve heard more than enough
Shame though.
Interesting, because after the war when the medals were decided on and struck you had to apply to the war medals board for them. They weren't just handed out, you had to write in with your name and service number and address to receive them.
My dad was the same regarding Korean War and Vietnam. After he passed while going through his things, I came across his DD-214 - Good Lord, he had a serious bowl of fruit salad, along with a Silver Star.
@mirandahotspring4019 People just did as they were told in those days and if the Sergeant told you to sign some papers, you just signed them.
When the King says you get to wear RAF pilot wings, you get to wear RAF pilot wings.
Absolutely…
It's said that the actual flying is easy, it's the take-offs and landing that are the hard part.
So it goes without saying that considering his high status Winston could have "delegated authority" for the take-offs and landings! Problem solved! Most likely the justification for His Majesty awarding Winston those wings!
I agree.... and if the King wants a medal then he can award it himself.
Yeah, but most British kings, including the current one, are dolts. So, what does that say when they award medals?
That being said, his aids put his clothes together for him daily. I doubt he paid much attention.
As an Irish man I'll stay out of this, but your videos are brilliant I'll also add, a lot of my family fought in the First World War and my mother's father was in the IRA during the War of Independence and was arrested and put on board a prison ship, he was arrested by his cousin, who was in the British Army. Churchill was a giant after 20th century regardless of his flaws.
A pro-Allied ‘neutrality’ you are adopting. Very Irish that 😂
For what it’s worth, FDR’s son (James.) went from civilian to a Marine Lieutenant Colonel bypassing every rank under it. He was downgraded to Captain later due to the absurdity and probable criticism.
David Sarnoff, head of RCA, got to be a Brigadier in 1945, considering that he was around 55 at the time, I'm pretty sure he didn't start off as a private.
@@quintrankid8045 Possilbly due to technical work on radar and radio for the US army ?
@@highpath4776 According to Wikipedia he served on Eisenhower's communications staff and facilitated radio coverage of the invasion of France and a few other things. IDK about radar.
Lots of people with technical skills were given high ranks to start. We needed thousands of officers and did not have the time to train them through all the ranks and many were not demoted but returned to a lower rank because the higher tanks were brevet promotions.
xx@@highpath4776 Exactly. Many high-ranking corporate men such as Sarnoff were invited into the services for their techical expertise and give high ranks so they'd have the "pull" to cut through red tape and get the job done. However this did NOT mean those high ranks would entitle them to lead troops in the field.
By the way, Sarnoff loved being called General Sarnoff for the rest of his life! Not bad for a Jewish kid from New York!
Eddie Rickenbacker was invited back into the Army Air Force during WW2 and offered a general's rank but turned it down, believing he'd be more useful as a civilian.
"The rules" for earning certain medals are created under the King, the titular commander-in-chief, kind of through his authority. So since the King is technically above these rules, he can go around the rules and award anyone a medal, including Winston Churchill. Everyone knows Winston Churchill did not physically fight operationally in WWII. It would be different if it was just a random person that we don't know the history of that is claiming to have fought and is wearing medals, but didn't actually serve. Also we know Winston Churchill served bravely in the WWI and in colonial wars before that, so its not like he was just always a civilian that had never served.
I never said he wasn't brave or a veteran.
@@MarkFeltonProductions You are right, to be clear I'm not saying you did, I am just re-iterating the point
I agree, if the king gives you a medal then that's official.
@@OGPatriot03 And those medals indeed were chosen to reflect places Churchill Had been - taking a risk - were there really war tourists ? - should ENSA or similar celebrities going overseas have medals - indeed did they ?
@@MarkFeltonProductionsHUGE mistake at @0:20. The guy on the right is legit. That is LTC Bo Gritz. Vietnam War hero with 3x Silver Stars, 4x Bronze Stars, and 2x Purple Hearts to his name. Absolutely NOT stolen valor. A combat proven bad-ass.
I never cared about the medals. As a Silent Service Veteran, I only cared about earning my Dolphins and not screwing anything up that would get my mates hurt or killed.
As Mark predicted, many comments suggest that Churchill made such a big contribution that the ordinary rules don't apply to him. As a fan of Churchill, I understand that view, but see it a little differently. Churchill was a man with great talent, and some big offsetting shortcomings. He was in part a showman, and he carefully crafted his public image, including his uniforms and medals. His unique appearance was part of what made him effective. His French helmet in World War I is another example of cultivating a unique and distinctive look. He had immense confidence and a big ego, and believed himself to be destined for great things. And part of that was that he acted as if the ordinary rules did not apply to him. In a good cause that level of self-regard was mostly good. In smaller matters, it looks self-serving and beneath him. His actual achievements speak for themselves, even with the errors he made, which Mark points out. Why did he do this? Seventy years later, it looks like his taking these medals was unfair to people who actually served in combat and met the criteria. Maybe he would not have seen it that way. I wish we could ask him what his motive was. We do know that he had plenty of medals he actually earned, for service and courage that were genuine. He didn't need to take medals he hadn't earned. My takeaway is that it was wrong, but overall, a small wrong, for Churchill to take them. Nonetheless, sadly it lowers him a little to know this happened. Our heroes are all human, and have their faults.
6 DFC's were requested for the medevac pilots of my dad's squadron. The vile admin sent 3, telling the squadron leader to do the distribution. Using flying hours, my dad and his best friend had identical 3rd place so they tossed a coin for it. My dad lost. About a month later one of the pair had to do a milk run so toss a coin? "No way" says my still sore dad " You won the last one, this ones yours." and so Merve Cecil DFC cheerily took the flight. Flew into wires.
So now I'm here.
His record is available on the Australian War Memorial website. “He never lived to receive his award”.
This does feel like cheap sniping
Colonial Sanders still guards his chicken recipe to this day.
*Colonel* Sanders.
We Americans haven’t been “colonials” for quite some time.
@@henryrodgers1752 We shall see.
@@henryrodgers1752then get your own language geezer
Harlan Sanders WAS indeed an official "Kentucky Colonel".
@@henryrodgers1752the world's most famous colonel his greatest achievement he fried chicken. was he awarded chicken wings to put on his uniform 😂😂😂
Yet, one could argue that WWII in Europe and North Africa would have been a short affair indeed had Great Britain in Churchill's tenure not stood alone against Germany and her allies, which ultimately resulted in those campaigns for which Churchill was awarded.
A bit _meta,_ I know...
We wldnt have been in one if he hadn’t wanted it .
@@Crosshatch1212 tricky, appeasement vs a war (which Churchill did not actually arrange the declaration of and took over a PM into WW2 ), never going to be easy ensuring British Independence. Perhaps we could have tried Neutral like Ireland.
I agree with your sentiment about Churchill. He was a great leader. I strongly disagree that Great Britain stood alone. Without the Commonwealth behind her, Great Britain would most likely have gone the way of France and Poland. The resources, manpower, and military and political commitment of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, et al were crucial factors in Great Britain's survival in the first few years of the war.
@@tomrob3654 Well it was British Empire. I think we mean Britain in All of Europe (Spain I think tried neutral) was not aligned to or overrun by Nazi Germany ). We took for granted the overseas colonies would chip in support (india maybe excepted because rumblings there for independence)
This is a bit nit-picking, isn't it.
As MF says (or sneers) he deserved to have the whole lot of them in solid gold if he wanted.
Because without him we would never have got through the dark days of 1940, and history today would be very different indeed...
Ty.
Don’t know if this is true or not, but I’ve seen a couple of documentaries and docudramas in which Churchill was ready to head over to Normandy to lead the troops onto the beach, and it took the personal intervention of the King to dissuade him. It suggests that if Churchill didn’t see any actual shooting in WWII it wasn’t for lack of trying.
No - more like he wanted to be on one of the ships offshore witnessing it. KGVI dissuaded him by saying something along the lines of "If you go, I shall go with you." Churchill backed down...
Should be illegal in the UK.
If done to gain monetary advantage then it is at is will be fraud. Otherwise it is considered gauche.
@@Subcomandante73 I'm surprised the UK doesn't have their own Stolen Valor. The US law was actually rule unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court under 1st Amendment/free expression grounds. In other words you have the right to lie. Very quickly the Stolen Valor laws were rewritten as fraud laws. As you say you lie for monetary gain you get arrested and lot of these guys get found out because they founded a fake charity or seduced some poor woman and milked her for her cash.
Why?
I'm surprised to hear such suggestions. Even though it's very scummy, I feel like criminalising it could be considered somewhat of an attack on free speech - something that military fanatics usually adore more than most. Obviously fraud is a different matter though and should very much be illegal lol.
Walts used to drive me mad when I was in the SAS
If someone is wearing medals they did not earn, that is considered stolen valor in the US. It's worth noting though that, almost no one gets charged with "Stolen Valor.". Most people that are discovered to be stolen valor are generally just publicly shamed within their community. That's about as far as it goes.
Sour grapes. My grandpa earned several Canadian service medals in WW2 for actual combat that i proudly possess. I dont begrudge Winny his penchant for medals.
Churchill should have worn "Cigar" and "Whiskey" Medals!
“awarded” is the outright opposite of “stolen”…
Churchill, reportedly, turned down a dukedom after WW2. I have to believe that if someone would have told him that accepting 6 medals was "stolen honor" he would have had nothing to do with them, such was his sense of honor and service to King and country.
He turned down the peerage title 'Duke of London' because he wanted his male line to have a political career in the House of Commons.
@@MarkFeltonProductions Being created Duke of London would not have prevented his male descendants from having a political career. They are not peers. If his son was an MP when Churchill died, then the son could have disclaimed the title and continued as an MP.
@@ianrobertson2282 It was not possible until 1963 to disclaim a peerage one had inherited. Churchill's eldest son Randolph was a temperamental drunkard and gambler who was clearly not going to have a stellar political career, having never won a contested election. He had been elected unopposed to parliament in 1940 but lost his seat in 1945.
@roberthardy3090
0 seconds ago
Tony Benn was forced to relinquish his seat in the House of Commons when he inherited his fathers peerage in 1961. He immediately stood again in the following bielection , rewon the seat but was not allowed to take it, the election was nullified and the seat awarded to the losing Conservative candidate. The antidemocratic absurdity led the then Conservative government to introduce the 1963 peerage act which allowed individuals to reject a peerage for their life and so allowed Tony Benn to restand in the following General Election.
I've never been in the service, nor was my father. My grandfather however served in the U.K. Royal Navy in both World Wars and was attached to the Indian Navy as a training officer at independence.
He is now long deceased, and we have all his service medals, including an MBE with oak Leafs and an India independence medal.
These all reside in a picture frame with his picture. Even when we have portrayed military officers on stage. Neither of us would have even conceived of wearing those medals.
We are proud "He Earned" these during his service.
I don't mind Churchill with his weaknesses.
This country and the world would have been well phucked if Churchill had not become wartime leader in 1940.
Some of us call them “Gravy Seals”
Steven Seagal😂
@@daviddwight5745omg. The king of stolen valor.😅
Gravy Seals - awesome! And apt.
Meal Team Six
Certainly it was unorthodox to award Churchill those service medals. However, he can't be compared to those representing themselves as combat veterans and recepients of awards for valor who never served in the armed forces.
Especially those who step forward as political candidates for elected office claiming a falsified military honor or service.
He led the country through its darkest hour. He deserve any medal he has.
@@Omegaxero horse shit
@@Omegaxero No he didn't. He didn't fight in any battles during the war.
@@martinputt6421 Those awards were not for fighting battles. Churchill though was in theatre, boosting the morale of troops. Plus did come under fire whilst performing his duties.
I think the primary reason Churchill received all these campaign medals, as well as the pilot wings, is because the King wanted him to have them. Britain may elect a government but they do not elect the king or queen. It’s that plain and simple from my perspective.
20 minuter from Felton on a Monday morning?
Cancel all my calls immediately.
Strange video. Churchill was awarded those medals by the monarch. So no, it wasn’t stolen valor.
Did you watch the whole video?
“Hey man the king said it’s cool so it’s cool, his ancestors were the only high born land lords that survived to this day so, so be it!”🤨
Bear in mind that Churchill did not award these medal to himself, they were awarded TO him. Also he never made any pretense of being a combat veteran of any of the WW2 campaigns for which he was awarded said medals.
It is more than a little misleading and also unfair, to lump him in with those who "award" themselves medals from the local pawnshop equivalent and actually try to portray themselves as combat veterans.
Though Churchill was an exemplary war leader he was decidedly vain - he famously had his 80th birthday painting by Graham Sutherland burned as he did not regard it as flattering, so none of this is surprising. I also think he and George VI would have fought if they could, but their roles precluded this. Both showed enormous and steadfast courage in leading Britain during WW2, so for my part I don’t begrudge them their ribbons.
No. Clemmy did that.
@@jasperpike242 It was a terrible painting.... Probably would be valuable today...
This was probably the least enjoyable Felton offering. I say this as an Irish Free State Irishman, not generally well disposed to British puffery. Who the hell knows what was thrust upon him? I find this discussion distasteful. He was in every sense a courageous war time leader. In WWI he went to the trenches after his ruinous Gallipoli campaign. At the end of the war (II) he was turned out of office. He graciously accepted the will of the people (lionized and ultimately capsized to paraphrase Churchill himself). You failed to mention he was also offered a peerage which he declined. How many generals wore medals bought with the blood of the troops they spent? Allowances should be made for such a pivotal figure. If you rouse yourself sufficiently perhaps you can micturate over FDR as well? In all likelihood today's Churchill might not have worn those awards availed of the 20/20 hindsight from which you benefit. Today is a different time that must be judged from a different perspective. Yeah, given his results, re-strike every medal in gold and let Churchill take his pick.
Bravo! Hear hear!
Those few generals that lead by example can keep em
Well said!
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Mark's videos are usually more objective in nature. This video also left a rather bad taste in my mouth. He is certainly entitled to his opinion, however anti-Churchill it may be. The UK was in the $h*t when he finally became the PM and inherited many bad military decisions, but he manned up and did the best he could. He had his faults like all men but dammit, to me, he was a man's man. He was genuine, truly a one of a kind. This might be splitting hairs that I'm not currently knowledgeable about without researching this but he was: in the war cabinet, a military veteran, put his life in danger many times -and certainly not "sightseeing." In "Walking with Destiny", a very excellent documentary by the way, there is mention that on one of (perhaps Mark might refer to this as a "sightseeing" trip?), meeting with the French PM Reynaud about the dire war effort in France. On his return journey across the channel, a German plane was attacking a civilian ship and immediately the pilot went down into the mist to hide. I can scarcely imagine what hand Fate could have dealt if he had been killed then. No Mark, the entire Western world owes a debt to Mr. Churchill that can never be repayed. Otherwise, we'd all be speaking German - even today, and yes, you too Mark.
Very good of you to say so.
Churchill saw action in India and fought in two wars. He led the British through WW2. If the king gave him wings he didn't "steal" anything. I think his penchant for uniforms was a morale booster. Of course, since he is being judged by " today's standards" he is obviously guilty of stolen valor and many other things I'm sure. Too bad he's not in charge of the UK today.
I agree.
Don’t mention Tonypandy will you?
no because stolen valour is pretending to have been in the army when you werent. since WC was in the army, the complaints are highly misplaced - for all the questionable medals were honorary. stolen valour doesnt apply. a different critique is needed, of which im sure there is one maybe "the-wearing-of-undeserved-awards-by-wartime-military-and-government-leaders"
Churchill performed the role of boosting the troops morale in theatre. Despite the risks of travelling to and within active war zones, as a high value target. And came under fire as a result. For which he was legally awarded the appropriate honours. Even with values changing over time that still does not count as 'stolen valour'!
I'm glad Mark isn't shy from critiquing and providing commentary on both Allied and Axis leaders/figures. Since I began following the World War Two channel, especially up until the end of the war, I've learnt alot from them about the actions from both sides, and whilst I'll wholeheartedly agree that the right side of history managed to achieve victory, to say Churchill, Roosevelt, De Gaulle or (obviously) Stalin were without their flaws is wilful ignorance at best, and historical revisionism at worst.
All of the best channels refuse bias and it's to be commended
I recall Dr Felton’s scathing comment on Tony Blair getting his KT
We are livinfg in a perverted version of the Morgenthau paln. The right side did not achieve victory.
The whole lots built on lies
Hold on! When did Indy and the crew on ww2 channel ever say the allied leaders had no faults? As far as I know, that is not true. I've seen almost every video they've produced and they do critize allied leaders aswell. For example, Indy didn't talk very favorably about the allied decision to firebomb of Japanese and German cities, targeting and killing millions of civilians.
Dumb question, wasn’t Bear Gryllis formerly of the SAS? And during that time he suffered serious back injury in a parachute accident
SAS Reserve
21 SAS...you can do the selection over a period of months, so its alot easier, with time to recover between tests.
Yeah Saturdays And Sundays.... 😂🤣😂🤣
(Reserve) Service record and charity work aside, Bear Grylls is as phony as a $3 bill.
@@joseywales3789 😂
He rallied the troops like no other. He accepted defeat in the political arena. Let it alone.
"We are all worms, but I do believe that I am a glow-worm." Winston Churchill
He actually said that, I just looked it up. Holee Phugg!
"Islam in a man is like rabies in a dog"~Sir Winston Churchill
@@optimusprinceps3526 I’ve read the book where Churchill writes this. It might have been in The River War, or maybe the one where he is fighting the tribes in what is now the tribal areas along the Afghan-Pakistan border area.
@@Llyd_ApDicta As First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston tried to reform many aspects of the Royal Navy. One admiral shouted, "But this is contrary to the traditions of the Royal Navy!"
Winston shouted back, "What are the traditions of the Royal Navy? Rum, flogging and buggery".
Churchill was the real thing.
I've heard that one, but I heard it as "rum, sodomy, and the lash". I fear that "rum, flogging, and buggery" doesn't have quite the same ring does it. And never forget, there is _no_ cannibalism in the British Navy! @FredScuttle456
...Absolutley lovin' th' Blade Runner 'Roy Batty' quote on Starmer 😂🤣😂👏😂
Glad someone spotted that - it was Starmer's 1000-yard stare that got me!
@@MarkFeltonProductions 🤣😂..."I've done some things maaahnnn!!"
I’ve always been baffled by historians who ignore the fact that Churchill’s first combat experiences were NOT in Africa. In 1895, Churchill took leave from Sandhurst to spend several months in Cuba, seconded to the Spanish Colonial army under Brigadier Suarez-Valdez in their fight against the Cuban freedom fighters seeking independence from Spain. He had a close encounter in one skirmish with a Cuban bullet zipping past his ear, that struck and killed a Spanish soldier next to him. On his way home, he spent some time in New York City, where he met, among others, Col. John J. Pershing and the NYC Police Commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt. Ironically, less than 3 years later, Roosevelt would lead troops in combat against Churchill’s former Spanish comrades. But by then, Winston was in Sudan getting ready for Omdurman. Why most historians ignore this phase of Churchill’s life has always baffled me.
Churchill, with all his faults, gave the English people hope when they most desperately needed it.
Needed it? Are you for real or joking? The Germans never wanted war.. The Führer made tons of peace offers in order to reason with the British.. But it was this fat cigar smoking monster that sold his sole and went to war with Germany.