Heroic Chancellor: Winston Churchill and the University of Bristol 1929–65

To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary, in January 2015, of the death of the most extraordinary and heroic figure ever to be closely and directly associated with it, the University of Bristol arranged and hosted a series of public lectures in the spring of that year, covering many facets of Sir Winston Churchill’s remarkably varied life; and I was kindly invited to speak on one aspect of it, which had a particular local appeal and domestic resonance, namely his long years and his diverse activities as Chancellor of the University, extending from 1929 until 1965. This was an irresistible invitation, since not only was Churchill the most illustrious and the most distinguished Chancellor that the University of Bristol has ever had, but he was also in his prime, from 1940 onwards, probably the most famous and the most distinguished chancellor of any university anywhere in the world.

David Cannedine