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  1. #1
    Senior Member AirborneSapper7's Avatar
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    Report: 1 in 4 Britons Think Winston Churchill Never Existed

    Report: 1 in 4 Britons Think Winston Churchill Never Existed
    Monday, February 04, 2008

    One in four Britons don't believe wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill existed, according to a recent survey.

    Churchill is compared to Florence Nightingale and Sir Walter Raleigh, seen by many survey respondents as a mythical person, the London Daily Mail reported Monday.

    The survey, conducted with 3,000 respondents to test their general knowledge, reported other historical figures such as Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, Cleopatra and the Duke of Wellington were made up for books and films, the Mail reported.

    The survey, by UKTV Gold, also found that Sherlock Holmes was a real person.

    Young Britons under 20 lack a basic historical education according to the survey results, historian Correlli Barnett told the Daily Mail.

    "This suggests a complete lack of common sense and respect for our greatest heroes of the past," Barnett said.


    Never, in the field of human ignorance, have so many known so little about famous Britons.

    A quarter of the population think that Winston Churchill never actually existed, a survey suggests.


    While a poll recently named him the greatest Briton of all time, the wartime prime minister is seen by many as a mythical figure along with the likes of Florence Nightingale and Sir Walter Raleigh.

    Scroll down for more...


    Winston Churchill, the 'greatest Briton of all time,' is merely a myth to some


    This could well have something to do with the TV insurance adverts inviting viewers to "challenge Churchill" and featuring a lugubrious talking dog.


    According to the survey of 3,000 respondents, many believe the inspirational Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, Cleopatra and the Duke of Wellington are also characters dreamed up for films and books.


    Some think Charles Dickens was himself a character in fiction rather than the creator of David Copperfield, Oliver Twist and Martin Chuzzlewit.


    In a damning indictment of the nation's historical knowledge, many of those surveyed said they believe Sherlock Holmes was a real person, along with the pilot Biggles and even the Three Musketeers.


    Almost 50 per cent were certain that Eleanor Rigby existed not just in the imagination of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

    And they were in no doubt about the existence of King Arthur, Lady Godiva, Robin Hood and Dick Turpin.

    In many cases such characters were based on real historical figures but their exploits have been embellished.


    While there was a highwayman called Richard Turpin, the famous ride he is said to have undertaken from London to York in a day was made by another rogue.


    Similarly, there was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman named Godiva, but there is no evidence that she rode through the streets naked.

    And there is only vague evidence that King Arthur ever existed, let alone led his Knights of the Round Table.

    Robin Hood is a similarly shadowy figure. The poll, carried out by UKTV Gold to test the nation's general knowledge, suggests that the under-20s are most lacking in basic historical education.

    Historian Correlli Barnett said: "This suggests a complete lack of common sense and respect for our greatest heroes of the past."


    "Churchill and Wellington were great men, but this suggests we no longer value people of great achievement.

    "It's all about celebrities and popular culture. What it also tells us is what is going wrong in our school curriculums.


    "Something must be completely lacking in our national education that people could be so ignorant as to think these people never actually existed.


    "No doubt these other ones like Robin Hood, people mistake as being real because they have recently been featured on the TV."


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    Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below?

    As even basic history has not been taught in elementary schools for years, what is there to find so surprising?

    - John, Saanichton B.C. Canada

    The result of trashy TV series, trashy teaching and even trashier books that children are encouraged to read.

    - John, Witney UK

    Hardly surprising. The country is full of uneducated, unaware, unintelligent fools, in our schools, hospitals, commercial workforce, police force, civil service and government.

    - Laura Roberts, London, UK

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,328088,00.html
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  2. #2
    Senior Member magyart's Avatar
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    I see "STUPID" people !

  3. #3

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    A people ignorant of their past will not have a future.
    [b] If we do not insist on Voter ID, how can we stop illegals from voting?

  4. #4
    Senior Member DEEDEE's Avatar
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    Goodbye Enland !!

    Since they appear to be historically challenged , it could be the reason they are not aware Europe is becoming Islamic.
    Thomas Jefferson said: When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty !

  5. #5

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    Re: Goodbye Enland !!

    Quote Originally Posted by DEEDEE
    Since they appear to be historically challenged , it could be the reason they are not aware Europe is becoming Islamic.
    They have been fed a masochistic version of their history in which they have been taught to despise their own pioneering ancestors and instead give away to strangers all that their ancestors created for them. The same is happening in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the rest of Europe. Europeans resisted the Hun, the Mongol and the Moors but are now welcoming them with gifts as they come through their gates.
    [b] If we do not insist on Voter ID, how can we stop illegals from voting?

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