Province leads tributes on the death of Sir Winston Churchill (1965)

From Government House, Hillsborough, Lord Erskine sent the following telegram to Lady Churchill: “My wife and I join with the people of Northern Ireland in sending to you and the members of your family this expression of deepest sympathy. Ulster mourns the passing from the earthly scene of a life unprecedented In service to the freedom and well-being of the world.”

In his telegram, Captain O'Neill, the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, said: “On behalf of the government of Northern Ireland I extend our sincere condolences on the death of your husband. Sir Winston earned the admiration of the world and people everywhere will share your sense of loss.”

And in a personal tribute, the Ulster Premier said: “A gigantic figure has passed from the scene. Statesman, soldier, historian and orator, this many-sided genius enriched the history of our times.

“Few men have the stature to shed lustre upon an entire era, but those of us who have lived in what history may well call 'the age of Churchill' have had the privilege, of observing such a man.

“Sir Winston was held in particular affection by the people of Ulster. Many years ago his views conflicted with theirs, but in the holocaust of war he came to value Ulster's unshakable fidelity to the nation, whose welfare he set above all else.

“His tribute to Northern Ireland's wartime service will forever be. recalled with pride.

“Many words will be written of Sir Winston at this moment of national loss, but few will match his own, because he was a master of our language.

“To adapt his own phrase - 'Never in the history of human conflict was »o much owed by so many to one great man.'”

The Lord Mayor of Belfast, in his telegram, said: “We In the city of Belfast have learned with very real sorrow of the death of Sir Winston, our distinguished freeman.

“While we mourn the loss of one who had a unique and abiding place in all our hearts, we are deeply conscious of an overwhelming thankfulness for a life of outstanding service and achievement. His inspired leadership, his great courage, and his invincible spirit never-failed, even in our darkest hour.

“Our debt to him is Immeasurable and his memory will remain with us forever. Please accept and convey to your family our deep, heartfelt sympathy in your great loss.”

The Mayor of Londonderry, Senator A W Anderson, VRD, in a tribute, said: “I consider Sir Winston Churchill was the most famous freeman this city has ever had.

“I do not forget the tremendous tribute he paid to Northern Ireland at the end of the war, when he said that If it had not been for Northern Ireland it would have been very difficult to win the war - if at all.

“We have lost, not Just a figure of this age, but a figure who will shine throughout the ages.”

Dr James McCann, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland, sent the following telegram to Lady Churchill: “Deep sympathy from the Church of Ireland people in Northern Ireland.”

Dr McCann also paid the following tribute to Sir Winston: “Today we mourn the loss of the greatest man of our era. Freedom-loving people everywhere pay homage to Winston Spencer-Churchill. His life and work has been an inspiration to us all.

“In the darkest hour of this century his magnificent leadership gave courage to men and women to fight when they were facing overwhelming odds.”

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Right Reverend Dr James Dunlop, paid this tribute to Sir Winston: “Mr Churchill was undoubtedly a man raised up for the hour of destiny in which he led the nation.

“When that hour came he was called and equipped in a unique way, and with a strong sense of divine destiny in his appointment, he was enabled, with great oratory, to rally the whole nation .and invigorate them to prosecute their task unflinchingly until victory was won.”

Dr Dunlop said it was significant that God always seemed to “choose a man of incomparable qualities to face up to the challenge of such an hour”, he added: “We must be grateful to Him for having given us such an inspiring and resolute leader as Sir Winston Churchill.”

A telegram was also sent on behalf of Dr S H Baxter, President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, who was on a visit to Eire, it said: “Please accept the prayful sympathy of the Methodist people in Ireland in your sorrow.”

Paying tribute to the memory of Sir Winston, the Bishop of Connor, Dr R C H Elliott, he said: “Acclaimed universally as the greatest man of the present century, we can never be sufficiently thankful for all that Sir Winston was enabled to be and to do. His courage as the leader of the free world in the worst days of World War II and the inspiration gained from his broadcasts are an unforgettable memory.”

Sir Norman Stronge, in a telegram to Lady Churchill on behalf of the Imperial Grand Black Chapter of the British Commonwealth, expressed deepest sympathy, and said: “Though a great earthly light has now extinguished, thankful peoples throughout the world will revere the name of Sir Winston Churchill and ensure imperishable recognition of an outstanding statesman.”

Lord Brookeborough, former Ulster Premier, in his tribute said that he had met Sir Winston many tunes and had found him a man with a gift of expressing what others felt in their hearts, put could not express in words. Sir Winston was an inspiration to the United Kingdom and the free world,” he remarked.

Captain L P S Orr, chairman, and Mr Rafton Pounder, secretary, sent a joint telegram on behalf of the Ulster Unionist Parliamentary Party at Westminster. expressing “deepest sympathy” and and adding: “But for him the freedom which we in Northern Ireland together with the other fire peoples of the world, enjoy, might well have been lost for ever.”

President Éamon de Valera, president of Eire, also paid tributes to the former British Prime Minster. He said: “He was a great Englishman, one of the greatest of his time, a tower of strength to his own people and to their allies in their hour of need. For this he will be acclaimed throughout the world. But we in Ireland had to regard Sir Winston over a long period as a dangerous adversary.

“The fact that he did not violate our neutrality during the war must always stand to his credit, though he indicated that in, certain circumstances he was prepared to do so.”

The Eire president added: “We sympathise with his widow and with all the members, of his family in their bereavement, and we hope that that mutual comprehension between the peoples of these two islands, for which Sir Winston prayed, may ultimately be realised.”