Complete the Online Entry Form below, upload your essay, and press the Submit button. You will receive an email confirmation upon successful submission.

OR

Mail or hand-deliver your essay and entry form (download the entry form Word or PDF)  by TBD 2022 to the following address:

Churchill Society of New Orleans
5801 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70115

First prize is $1500; Second prize is $500; Third prize is $250. If at least 5 students at a school submit essays and none of them wins the first, second or third prize, the best of those essays will receive a prize of $100. The teacher named by the student who wins the first prize of $1500 will also receive a prize of $500. 

After Hitler’s armies had become masters of continental Europe in 1940, the Battle of Britain began.  German bombers attempted to destroy the British air force, preparatory to invading the island.  Britain’s Royal Air Force rose to the challenge.  Fighter planes manned by young men whose life expectancy could be measured in days and weeks put up such a stout resistance that ultimately Hitler gave up the idea of invading Britain. During this time, in a speech to the House of Commons on August 20, 1940, Churchill said

“The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the World War by their prowess and by their devotion.  Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

Essay Topic:  Discuss Churchill’s August 20, 1940 speech.
Your essay should touch on the following:

✔ The situation in Britain at the time.

✔ The power of Churchill’s words.

✔ The outcome.

Churchill was familiar with the words that Shakespeare put in Henry V’s mouth prior to the great battle of Agincourt:

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”

Although not required in your essay, you are invited to compare the two speeches.

1. All students at any high-school level are eligible to participate.

2. The essay should address the Topic given above.

3. Essay should be between 500 and 1000 words, typed double spaced.

4. Essays will be judged on knowledge of Churchill, relevance to the Topic, and good use of the English language.

5. A student’s teacher and parents are encouraged to help with the research and to comment on essay drafts, but the student must produce the paper. We ask that the name of the teacher responsible for the student’s participation be provided on the Entry Form.

6. The deadline for submission of this year’s essay is TBD 2022.

If a teacher would like a member of the Board of the Churchill Society to speak to students about Churchill, please call Ted Martin at (504) 284-8578.

The Society will be happy to provide books on Churchill to a participating school, if requested.

BACKGROUND MATERIAL:

Besides information bearing on the Topic that might be found elsewhere, be sure to study the material under “About Churchill” on this website

TIPS FOR A WINNING ESSAY:

1. Be sure of your facts before you write something that is wrong – like the country in which something took place, or the role that Churchill played.

2. Proofread your essay. Reading it out loud will help you to find mistakes – words left out or misused.

3. Attaching a bibliography to your essay will help the judges understand how you obtained the ideas and information in your essay.

4. Churchill supported himself and his family by writing books, which sold well. He used short words and short phrases to get his points across effectively. Here is an example from one of his speeches:

“Come then, let us to the task, to the battle, to the toil – each to our part, each to our station. Fill the armies, rule the air, pour out the munitions, strangle the U-boats, sweep the mines, plough the land, build the ships, guard the streets, succor the wounded, uplift the downcast and honor the brave.”

5. In your writing, aim for clarity and brevity. Your essay will be short, but it can say a lot if you write carefully and thoughtfully.

6. Try to put forth several points rather than repeating the same one in different ways.