The entry of the United States into World War II meant an enormous increase in responsibility for Winston Churchill's bodyguard Walter Thompson. For the next three and a half years the two men were to travel almost 200,000 miles visiting the battle fronts and attending high-level conferences. Very soon, Winston was to come within seconds of assassination by a lone gunman.
Overview
Episodes
S01E01 Walter Meets Winston
November 21, 2005 47 min
In the background of almost every piece of footage of Britain's great wartime leader Winston Churchill, is an anonymous figure: his bodyguard, Detective Inspector Walter Thompson of Scotland Yard. This is the story of how...
Soon after he became Winston Churchill's personal bodyguard, Walter Thompson was given the challenge of keeping his boss alive during a visit to the Middle East. A leading British politician was a natural target for...
In 1929, Winston Churchill ceased to be Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Detective Sergeant Walter Thompson sadly stopped guarding the man he had come to regard as a friend. However, within two years, Winston's outspoken...
Having kept Winston Churchill safe from assassination during his US lecture tour in 1931, Walter Thompson soon left the police force. Out of office and increasingly at odds with his party, it also seemed that...
During the 1930s, although he was out of office, Winston Churchill's outspoken opposition to Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime made him a marked man. So much so that when war seemed inevitable, French Intelligence...
As World War II began, Winston Churchill was brought back into the government after ten years in the wilderness. For his bodyguard Detective-Inspector Walter Thompson it was the beginning of the six most active and...
By June 1940, Britain was facing Nazi invasion. Prime Minister Winston Churchill's bodyguard Walter Thompson had at least managed to keep him safe during several dangerous trips to France. But the next year was to...
The entry of the United States into World War II meant an enormous increase in responsibility for Winston Churchill's bodyguard Walter Thompson. For the next three and a half years the two men were to...
A precarious trip to Moscow to visit Stalin is followed by victory for the 8th Army in North Africa. However, the Germans know that Churchill is travelling and try at least twice to shoot down...
Hitler's henchmen have devised a plan to kill Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt at the Tehran Conference. Assassins are parachuted in carrying suicide bombs and it is up to Walter and the intelligence services to protect...
Winston Churchill returns from Tehran in very poor health. So much so that his doctor expects him to die. Walter's devotion is such that he insists on staying at Winston's side on the crucial night...
When Winston visits Athens he is supposed to stay at an hotel where Greek guerrillas have placed 1000 lbs of dynamite in a nearby sewer. They shoot at his plane and even fire on HMS...
It is VE-Day and Winston and Walter have several journeys to make through the jubilant crowds. Winston wants to walk and at the last minute is pulled on to the roof of his car by...
