Where Did Winston Churchill Deliver the “Never Give Up” Speech?
The famous speech where Winston Churchill spoke of never giving up was delivered at Harrow School on October 29, 1941. Many of Churchill’s speeches were memorable, but this speech is most remembered for the lines that start, “…never give in, never give in, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.”
Prior to this speech, Prime Minister Churchill discovered that the school had added a verse to one of the traditional songs in his honor. The verse referred to darker days, and Churchill requested it to be changed to sterner days. He wanted the people to look at the days of war as days of change and greatness, not as dark days. The fact that the days of war were hard and difficult could not be ignored, so the word change was made.
Even after the war and his time as Prime Minister, Churchill was well liked by the citizens of England. He faced many health issues, starting as early as 1941, but was able to manage them until he had a series of strokes in 1953. The strokes had caused his retirement in 1955. Although he remained in Parliament until 1964, he did not seek re-election. When he passed away at age 90, the United Kingdom mourned him for a long period.
