Departing Bank of England governor chooses wartime leader to replace prison reformer on next fiver
Sir Winston Churchill will appear on the next Bank of England banknote, joining a select list of “eminent British personalities” including Florence Nightingale and William Shakespeare.
The wartime leader’s face and famous “blood, toil, tears and sweat” quote on £5 notes will be a lasting legacy for departing Bank governor Sir Mervyn King, who made the final decision on Churchill.
Announcing the choice at Churchill’s former home, Chartwell, King suggested £5 notes may even become known as “Winstons”.
“It seems entirely appropriate to put Sir Winston on what is probably our most popular note,” he said.
“Our banknotes acknowledge the life and work of great Britons. Sir Winston Churchill was a truly great British leader, orator and writer. 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.”
Churchill’s portrait from a photograph taken in 1941 will probably appear on £5 notes from 2016 although plans have yet to be finalised, the Bank said. If it is indeed the £5 note he appears on, he will replace social reformer Elizabeth Fry and there will no longer be any female figures celebrated on the back of British banknotes.
Churchill, the first statesman to feature, will be pictured alongside a view of Westminster with parliament’s clock showing 3 o’clock – the approximate time on 13 May 1940 when Churchill declared in a speech: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
The Bank has pictured British personalities on the back of its notes since 1970 and the previous 15 eminent figures chosen have included the composer Sir Edward Elgar, scientist Michael Faraday and writer Charles Dickens. Only two, Fry and Nightingale, have been women.
Members of the public can put forward suggestions, although the Bank will only consider figures who have made an “indisputable contribution to their particular field of work”. It considers the list of public suggestionswhen picking a new picture but the governor of the Bank has the final decision.
The current suggestions list includes Princess Diana, the Beatles, poet William Blake and naturalist Sir David Attenborough. Lady Thatcher is not on the most recently available list of public suggestions.
The new Churchill banknote will be the second time he has appeared on British money, having become the first commoner to be portrayed on a British coin – the 1965 crown or five shilling piece.
King added: “Winston Churchill holds a special place in the affections of our nation. His wartime leadership inspired the British people, not least through the power of his oratory. That leadership served as an example to the free world and helped to ensure the survival of those freedoms, which we continue to enjoy today.”