Randolph Churchill

The Honourable Randolph Churchill MBE
Churchill, c. 1941
Member of Parliament for Preston
In office 29 September 1940 – 5 July 1945 Serving with Edward Cobb
Preceded by	Adrian Moreing
Succeeded by	John William Sunderland
Personal details
Born	Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer Churchill (1911-05-28)28 May 1911 London, England
Died	6 June 1968(1968-06-06) (aged 57) East Bergholt, Suffolk, England
Resting place	St Martin's Church, Bladon
Political party	Conservative
Spouses	Pamela Digby ​ ​ (m. 1939; div. 1946)​ June Osborne ​ ​ (m. 1948; div. 1961)​
Children	Winston Churchill Arabella Churchill
Parents	Winston Churchill Clementine Hozier
Education	Eton College
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford
Profession	Journalist soldier
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1938–1961
Rank	Major
Unit	4th Queen's Own Hussars Queen's Royal Irish Hussars
Battles/wars	Second World War Western Desert campaign World War II in Yugoslavia
Awards	Member of the Order of the British Empire

Major Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer Churchill^[a] MBE (28 May 1911 – 6 June 1968) was an English journalist, writer and politician.

The only son of future British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine, Randolph was brought up to regard himself as his father's political heir, although their relations became strained in later years. In the 1930s, he stood unsuccessfully for Parliament a number of times, causing his father embarrassment. He was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Preston at the 1940 Preston by-election. During the Second World War, he served with the SAS in North Africa and with Tito's partisans in Yugoslavia. Randolph lost his seat in 1945 and was never re-elected to Parliament. Despite his lack of success in politics, Randolph enjoyed a successful career as a writer and journalist. In the 1960s, he wrote the first two volumes of the official life of his father.

Randolph was married and divorced twice. His first wife was Pamela Digby (later Harriman); their son Winston later became a Conservative MP. Throughout his life, Randolph had a reputation for rude drunken behaviour. By the 1960s, his health had collapsed from years of heavy drinking; he outlived his father by only three years.
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