Sir Winston Churchill to feature on new banknote

[B-DRAGON]

■Sir Winston Churchill to feature on new banknote

Comments (1114)

By Kevin Peachey Personal finance reporter, BBC News

Winston ChurchillSir Winston Churchill was a British prime minister and statesman who led the country to victory against Nazi Germany and the Axis powers in World War Two.
Photo: Winston Churchill, photographed by Cecil Beaton, at 10 Downing Street, London, in 1940. (IWM MH 26392)

Churchill decides to fight on May 1940

In late May, against the backdrop of the Dunkirk evacuation and the unstoppable German advance, Churchill disregarded calls for peace talks with Hitler. Britain would fight on, he ordered.

Photo: Churchill examines a Tommy gun during an inspection of invasion defences near Hartlepool, 31 July 1940. (IWM H2646)

 

Cannot play media. You do not have the correct version of the flash player. Download the correct version

Advertisement

Luisa Baldini has a close-up look at the note design

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• New five-euro note has goddess
• A new sign of the financial times
• Ten-fold rise in fivers from ATMs

Sir Winston Churchill will feature on the new design of a banknote which will enter circulation in 2016, the Bank of England has announced.

The wartime leader's image is planned to feature on the reverse of the new £5 note, together with one of his most celebrated quotations.

Churchill was chosen owing to his place as "a hero of the entire free world", said Bank governor Sir Mervyn King.

The current face of the £5 note is social reformer Elizabeth Fry.

'Truly great leader'

A wide range of historical characters appears on the reverse of Bank of England banknotes, with Elizabeth Fry the only woman among the current crop.

The Bank of England governor has the final say about who appears on a banknote, although the public can make suggestions. The latest addition has been announced by Sir Mervyn at Churchill's former home of Chartwell, in Westerham, Kent.

Continue reading the main story

Current Bank of England banknote images

• £5: Elizabeth Fry, social reformer noted for her work to improve conditions for women prisoners
• £10: Charles Darwin, the scientist who laid the foundations of the theory of evolution
• £20: Adam Smith, one of the fathers of modern economics
• £50: Matthew Boulton and James Watt, who brought the steam engine into the textile manufacturing process. They are replacing notes featuring the first governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Houblon

• Who is that on my banknote?
• What was Sir Winston Churchill's legacy?

"Our banknotes acknowledge the life and work of great Britons. Sir Winston Churchill was a truly great British leader, orator and writer," Sir Mervyn said.

"Above that, he remains a hero of the entire free world. His energy, courage, eloquence, wit and public service are an inspiration to us all."

Current plans, which the Bank said might be reviewed, are for Churchill to appear on the new £5 note to be issued in 2016.

Security measures

The design includes a portrait of the former prime minister, adapted from a photograph taken by Yousuf Karsh on 30 December 1941. He is the only politician from the modern era to feature on a banknote.

The artwork will also include:

• Churchill's declaration "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" which came in a speech in the Commons on 13 May 1940
• A view of Westminster and the Elizabeth Tower from the South Bank
• The Great Clock showing three o'clock - the approximate time of the Commons speech
• A background image of the Nobel Prize for literature, which he was awarded in 1953

Sir Mervyn said that this was an appropriate choice given the country's economic difficulties.

"We do not face the challenges faced by Churchill's generation. But we have our own," he said.

Cannot play media. You do not have the correct version of the flash player. Download the correct version

Advertisement

Sir Mervyn King: "Perhaps the note itself will become known as a Winston"

"The spirit of those words remains as relevant today as it was to my parents' generation who fought for the survival of our country and freedom under Churchill's leadership."

The Bank of England issues nearly a billion banknotes each year, and withdraws almost as many from circulation.

Notes are redesigned on a relatively frequent basis, in order to maintain security and prevent forgeries. Other security features include threads woven into the paper and microlettering.

The most recent new design from the Bank of England was the £50 note, which entered circulation in November. This features Matthew Boulton and James Watt who were most celebrated for bringing the steam engine into the textile manufacturing process.

While Bank of England notes are generally accepted throughout the UK, three banks in Scotland and four in Northern Ireland are authorised to issue banknotes.

Pharmacologist Sir Alexander Fleming, poet Robert Burns, and tyre inventor John Boyd Dunlop are among those who appear on these notes. One commemorative £5 note featuring football great George Best proved so popular that the limited edition of one million sold out in 10 days.

Greek goddess Europa is appearing on the new five-euro note

In May, a new five-euro note will be put into circulation by the European Central Bank.

It features an image of the Greek goddess Europa, which comes from a vase in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

History

The image of Churchill has featured on currency before.

He was the first commoner to be shown on a British coin when he appeared on the 1965 crown, or five shilling piece.

Churchill, elected as a Conservative MP in 1900, served as chancellor in Stanley Baldwin's government.

He replaced Neville Chamberlain to become the wartime British prime minister in May 1940 until 1945. He returned to office in 1951, and retired in 1955, aged 80.

"The Bank is privileged to be able to celebrate the significant and enduring contribution Sir Winston Churchill made to the UK, and beyond," said Chris Salmon, chief cashier of the Bank of England, whose signature will also appear on the banknote.

Sir Nicholas Soames, Churchill's grandson and MP for Mid Sussex, said: "I think it is a wonderful tribute to him and an appropriate time. I can't think of any more marvellous thing that would have pleased him more."

He described the move as a great honour for the family.

Who's been on Bank of England notes?
Source: Bank of England, Notes issued and withdrawn since 1980
Famous Briton	Lived	Field	Note	Note from
Isaac Newton	1643-1727	Scientist	£1	1978-1988
Duke of Wellington	1769-1852	Soldier and statesman	£5	1971-1991
George Stephenson	1781-1848	Engineer	£5	1990-2003
Elizabeth Fry	1780-1845	Campaigner	£5	2002-present
Florence Nightingale	1820-1910	Nurse & campaigner	£10	1975-1994
Charles Dickens	1812-1870	Writer	£10	1992-2003
Charles Darwin	1809-1882	Scientist	£10	2000-present
William Shakespeare	1564-1616	Writer	£20	1970-1993
Michael Faraday	1791-1867	Scientist	£20	1991-2001
Sir Edward Elgar	1857-1934	Composer	£20	1999-2010
Adam Smith	1723-1790	Economist	£20	2007-present
Sir Christopher Wren	1632-1723	Architect	£50	1981-1996
Sir John Houblon	1632-1712	Banker	£50	1994-present
Matthew Boulton and James Watt	1728-1809, 1736-1819	Entrepreneur and inventor	£50	2011-present

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.