Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

John Strange Spencer-Churchill (4 February 1880 – 23 February 1947) was the younger son of

Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was a British aristocrat and politician. Churchill was a Tory radical who coined the term "One-nation conservatism, Tory democracy". He participated in the creation ...

and his wife

Jennie Jennie may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Jennie'' (film), a 1940 American drama film * ''Jennie'' (musical), a 1963 Broadway production * ''Jennie'' (novel), a 1994 science fiction thriller by Douglas Preston * '' Jennie: Lady Randolph C ...

, and the brother of former

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

Early life

Churchill was born on 4 February 1880, at

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park () is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since ...

Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, where his father, Lord Randolph, was secretary to Churchill's grandfather, the 7th Duke of Marlborough, then

Viceroy of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

. Churchill was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

in England. His mother's sisters believed that Churchill's actual biological father was Evelyn Boscawen. Although that was mostly discredited due to his striking resemblance with his father and brother.

Career

Churchill was commissioned into the

Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars The Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars (QOOH) was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army's auxiliary forces, formed in 1798. It saw service in the Second Boer War with 40 and 59 Companies of the Imperial Yeomanry and was the first Yeomanry ...

in 1898. He served in the

South African Light Horse The South African Light Horse regiment of the British Army were raised in Cape Colony in 1899 and disbanded in 1907. The commanding officer tasked with raising the regiment was Major (locally a Lieutenant Colonel) the Honourable Julian Byng. ...

alongside his

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

brother in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

in 1899–1900. He was shot through the leg in February 1900, during the

Battle of the Tugela Heights The Battle of Tugela (or Thukela) Heights, also known as the Battle of Pieters Hill, Battle of the Pieters, or the Battle of the Tugela River, consisted of a series of military actions lasting from 14 February through to 27 February 1900 in whic ...

, part of the campaign for the

relief of Ladysmith The Relief of Ladysmith consisted of multiple efforts to relieve the city of Ladysmith by General Sir Redvers Buller during the Second Boer War. Buller and the Natal Field Force attempted to relieve the city through multiple offensive actions ...

. The following month he returned for duty. For his service, he was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

. He fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, where he was again mentioned in dispatches. He served on the staff of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Lord French, General Sir Ian Hamilton (serving as Naval Liaison Officer for the

Mediterranean Expeditionary Force The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) was the part of the British Army during World War I that commanded all Allied forces at Gallipoli and Salonika. It was formed in March 1915, under the command of General Sir Ian Hamilton, at the begi ...

) and Field Marshal Lord Birdwood (serving as Camp Commandant, 1st

Anzac The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...

Corps, and then as Assistant Military Secretary at the headquarters of the Fifth Army). He reached the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and was awarded the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

decorations of the

Croix de guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

and the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and the British

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

in 1918. After the war, he became a businessman in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

firstly as a partner at stockbrokers Nelke, Phillips & Bendix from 1906 and then at Vickers, da Costa, making partner in 1921. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, after the widowed Churchill lost his house during

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

, he lived in

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...

(where he used the bedrooms on the top floor formerly used by his brother Winston and his wife) or in the No 10 Annex.

Mary Soames Mary Soames, Baroness Soames (; 15 September 1922 31 May 2014) was an English author. The youngest of the five children of Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine, she worked for public organisations including the Red Cross and the Women's ...

in her edition of the Churchill letters.Holmes, Richard. ''Churchill's Bunker'' 2009, Profile Books; , pp. 82, 107

Personal life

On 8 August 1908, Churchill married Lady Gwendoline Theresa Mary "Goonie" Bertie (20 November 1885 – 7 July 1941), the daughter of

Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon Montagu Arthur Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon (13 May 1836 – 10 March 1928), styled Lord Norreys from 1854–84, was an English peer. Early life Montagu Arthur Bertie was born on 13 May 1836 at Hanover Square, Mayfair. He was the eldest of ni ...

, and Gwendoline Mary Dormer. Lady Gwendoline had been raised as a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. Churchill and his wife had three children: * John George Spencer-Churchill (1909–1992) * Henry Winston "Peregrine" Spencer-Churchill (1913–2002), who married Yvonne Henriette Mary Jehannin (1924–2010). * Anne Clarissa Spencer-Churchill, later Countess of Avon (1920–2021), the wife of prime minister

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achi ...

. Churchill died on 23 February 1947, aged 67, of heart disease. He is buried near his parents and brother (who outlived him for 18 years) at

St Martin's Church, Bladon St Martin's Church in Bladon near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, is the Church of England parish church of Bladon-with-Woodstock. It is also the mother church of St Mary Magdalene at Woodstock, which was originally a ch ...

, near

Woodstock, Oxfordshire Woodstock is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish, north-west of Oxford in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census recorded a parish population of 3,521, up from t ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Jack 1880 births 1947 deaths British people of American descent

John Strange Spencer-Churchill John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British recipients of the Legion of Honour People educated at Harrow School British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) South African Light Horse officers Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars officers Burials at St Martin's Church, Bladon Military personnel from Dublin (city)

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...