Great Britons

[Dante]

It is unlikely that many of you will know, but recently a nationwide poll was held here to decide on the greatest Briton of all time. It's too late to vote, but if you go to www.bbc.com/greatbritons you can see the list and the top ten.

Who's interested?

Who should have been there that wasn't? Who shouldn't have been there who was? Who should have won?

Personally, I voted for Queen Elizabeth I. Did any other Brits here vote? If so, who and why? If you aren't British but are still interested, who would you have chosen yourself?

[Edric O]

Winston Churchill, without a doubt. He saved Britain, Europe, and perhaps the entire world from a fate worse than death.

And this is one of my favourite quotes of all time:

We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

- Sir Winston Churchill

[Dante]

Funnily enough, he won. Did you know that when you wrote it?

[Edric O]

No, I only just found out a few minutes ago. Wow. It seems I'm not the only one who thinks that way. :)

[Dunenewt]

Winston Churchill and Elizebeth were the only ones worthy of winning it - John Lennon and Lady Diana, what were they thinking (or should I say we as the public voted!

Also, David Beckham was about Number 33 - its ridiculus

[Anathema]

Churchill I suppose.

[Khan]

I thought nelson should have won it personally but Lady Di :-

[koen]

Churchill :D

Oh wait, I'm not a Briton :)

[Terror]

heheh me neither, but i pretty much agree with the list though.. Darwin and Diana both deserve a high place

[Usul]

I think Cromwell should have been higher as he brought democracy to these shores. I would have voted for Churchill over the others though. My order of the top ten chosen would have been would be:

1 Churchill

2 Nelson

3 Cromwell

4 Elizabeth I

5 Newton

6 Darwin

6 Shakespeare

7 That enginer guy I forget his name

8 John Lennon

9 Diana

Can't remember the other one

[Caid Ivik]

Sir Winston Churchill was a great politician. Especially for the war. But his achievments at peace times were not the best. Someone said he was the best premier, but worst finance minister.

[Edric O]

Without any one of the other candidates, Britain wouldn't be what it is today.

Without Churchill, Britain wouldn't BE at all today.

That's how I see it. :)

[Anathema]

Well he did a good job but wasn't he a heavy drinker too?

[Dante]

That wasn't his only vice. But then, without Elizabeth I there wouldn't be an ENGLAND. Or a Wales, come to that. Many other monarchs would have lost to the Spanish, and without her Mary Queen of Scots would almost certainly have ended up on the throne of England somehow (Considering she'd already been queen of France and Scotland that would have been quite an achievement). But Elizabeth held on and made sure no other country took over. That's why there's a Britain at all instead of a larger Scotland or an extra province of Spain. I think she should have won.

[Inoculator9]

Sure but Hitler wasn't a drinker. There was a thread a month or two ago about that. But I would go for Churchill and if I wasnt basing this on political and realistic achievments I'd say Rowan Atkinson.

[nemafakei]

Frankly, Diana shouldn't have been on the list. She was a nice person, who did good things for charity, but so did many others - to greater effect.

It was obvious, even a year ago, that Churchill would win. Says something...

[Dante]

Frankly, Diana shouldn't have been on the list. She was a nice person, who did good things for charity, but so did many others - to greater effect.

It was obvious, even a year ago, that Churchill would win. Says something...

First point; Yes.

Second point; Well, Brunel was winnig for most of the time and Diana led for a week...

Numpties not voting for Liz I...

[Edric O]

Bah, Elizabeth defended England from a badly equipped over-confident foreign fleet.

Churchill defended England from the greatest evil in human history, which had previously steamrolled over all of Western Europe.

[Dante]

Bah, Elizabeth defended England from a badly equipped over-confident foreign fleet.

Churchill defended England from the greatest evil in human history, which had previously steamrolled over all of Western Europe.

Don't forget all of Elizabeth's personaly achievements. Like staying single in what was at the time a man's job, surviving her father, and having to kill people she didn't want to.

Churchill would have lost if Hitler hadn't changed his mind. It is estimated that at the rate they went at it would have taken the Luftwaffe only another week to destroy the RAF. But the RAF had put up such a fight that Hitler thought he was losing and stopped attacking so much. And after steamrollering Europe, the only reason the army stopped was because of the English Channel.

[lowzeewee]

Winston Churchill and Elizebeth were the only ones worthy of winning it - John Lennon and Lady Diana, what were they thinking (or should I say we as the public voted!

Also, David Beckham was about Number 33 - its ridiculus

Not David Beckham,it should b Alan shearer frm newcastle or maybe michael owen!

[Caid Ivik]

Well he did a good job but wasn't he a heavy drinker too?

His nice saying:

lady: Sir Churchill, you are drunk!

WC: Yes, madam, but you are ugly. Tommorow when I'll wake up, I won't be drunk. But when you'll wake up, you will be still ugly.

[The_Sadukar]

I think Cromwell should have been higher as he brought democracy to these shores. I would have voted for Churchill over the others though. My order of the top ten chosen would have been would be:

1 Churchill

2 Nelson

3 Cromwell

4 Elizabeth I

5 Newton

6 Darwin

6 Shakespeare

7 That enginer guy I forget his name

8 John Lennon

9 Diana

Can't remember the other one

Hey, you forgot Tolkein

[Apollyon]

to be honest I think the original list should have been much revised. Many ppl deserved to be above ppl like Diana etc.

[Dante]

Very true. But you'd be surprised where some people were. Baroness Thatcher almost made it to the top 10, even Blair was in there. Diana should perhaps have been around 20-30.

(At least she came third and not first).

[Edric O]

What I admire about Churchill is not the fact that he actually won. Like you said, Dust Scout, that was only partially his merit (but then again, Elizabeth didn't defeat the Spanish armada all by herself either - most of the job was done by violent storms).

What I admire is Churchill's courage and determination to defend Britain no matter the cost. He would not give up. He would fight to the end. No surrender, no retreat. He ralied up all of Britain and gave a clear message to Hitler: "You're gonna have to kill every single one of us before you take this land!"

Churchill would not take even one step back in the face of Evil.