Characters in the Churchill Story
Project Heroes and Villains

Battle of Britain Project Timeline 1940
May 10th - Churchill becomes Prime Minister

May 17th - Appointment of Beaverbrook

June - Frantic preparations

July 10th - August 7th, The Opening

August 8th - 18th, The First Phase

August 19th - September 5th, The Second Phase

September 6th - October 5th, The Third Phase

 Characters From Story
One of the characteristics of the series are the characters presented in each book which help bring to life the project and make it more real and memorable. Each of these had a significant role in the project and a set of responsibilities. The section below discusses these, some of the significant decisions made and actions taken, and the resulting consequences. In Churchill's Adaptive Enterprise the following individuals were critical to the project and the story:

Winston Churchill
One of Churchill’s great personal strengths was that he listened to his experts, the scientist and technologists. He was able to recognize the brilliant mavericks like Beaverbrook, Dowding, and Winterbotham, and bring them to the forefront. When they presented their ideas and solutions to him, he had the foresight to allow them to get on with them. He backed them when needed, helping remove all obstacles in their paths.

Churchill’s confidence soared through the use of his on demand solution. He exuded this confidence in the rallying speeches he delivered to his nation. The solution let him flourish and focus on the overriding strategies of fighting for human rights and freeing nations. He also concentrated on wooing Roosevelt, and this became the turning point for the whole war.
 

As a long-standing and skillful politician, Churchill knew the mechanics and politics of government. As a war-time prime minister, he had a lot of power. He could navigate around the “mandarins” and civil servants of the ministries, knowing which strings to pull. Churchill was also a military man, having served in the army and navy. He understood the military organization, mind, and culture. Through his solution, the federated portal, Churchill was able to unite his disparate organizations, which coexisted in bitter rivalry, harnessing their energies in the same direction to fight for one same cause.

Based on all this information, it is easy to understand why Churchill was such a great leader. It would have been all too easy to go with the majority of the establishment, sue for peace, and set up a “Vichy England.” Instead, Churchill resolutely went against massive pressure and put up a fight that eventually led his nation to victory.

Air Marshall Hugh Dowding

As the Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command he was focused on keeping it operational. From July 1936 to November 1940, he saw two vital years of service when 'The Few' fighter pilots went up in their Spitfires and Hurricanes against the Messerschmitt 109s and 110s of the Luftwaffe. Possibly most important of all, he fought vigorously in the corridors of power for the introduction of improvements in aircraft, radar, aircraft control systems and airfields. He maintained morale in the RAF, leveraged the Ultra secret, and made sound decisions through the battle.

Lord Beaverbrook

Beaverbrook galvanized the the aircraft production industry. He instituted a seven-day work week and “work without stopping. Beaverbrook helped to fulfill Churchill’s short-term strategy of accelerated production of fighters at the expense of bombers. He slowed down development of all projects so that production could be concentrated on the Hurricane and Spitfire vital to the Battle of Britain.

Beaverbrook was concerned about the materials for the construction of aircraft. He thought up the idea of getting public participation by having people donating all their old aluminum saucepans, pots, and pans. It would impress upon the people that they were “doing their bit” and boost morale. The “Saucepans to Spitfires” program was a public-relations exercise that was immeasurably increased. “This was his hour,” Churchill later declared. “His personal force and genius, combined with so much persuasion and contrivance, swept aside many obstacles. Everything in the supply line was drawn forward to the battle.”

Stewart Menzies

In July 1939 Stewart Menzies went to Warsaw to supervise the capture of the Enigma coding device. On his return to Britain he became the Director General of MI6. He supported the development of Ultra.

Alan Turing

A significant player at Bletchley Park, a mathematician and scientist, who significantly contributed to the project by building the prototypes, known as "bombes", based on the work of the Polish mathematicians. These were significant in automating the code breaking process and reducing the overall time. The bombes used existing cribs or clues from existing messages to find cracks in the armor. Without the bombes it is unlikely the codes would have been broken within the 24 hour window to make the information useful.

Captain FW Winterbotham

A significant player at Bletchley Park a security officer who was given the mandate to completely secure Ultra so that it would not be compromised. Winterbotham put together an operation of Special Liaison Units that were used to securely deliver Ultra to Churchill's distribution list.