Kevin Peachey | BBC News | April 26, 2013
Sir Winston Churchill will feature on the new design of a banknote which will enter circulation in 2016, the Bank of England has announced.
The wartime leader's image is planned to feature on the reverse of the new £5 note, together with one of his most celebrated quotations.
Churchill was chosen owing to his place as "a hero of the entire free world", said Bank governor Sir Mervyn King.
The current face of the £5 note is social reformer Elizabeth Fry.
Truly a Great Leader
A wide range of historical characters appears on the reverse of Bank of England banknotes, with Elizabeth Fry the only woman among the current crop.
The Bank of England governor has the final say about who appears on a banknote, although the public can make suggestions. The latest addition has been announced by Sir Mervyn at Churchill's former home of Chartwell, in Westerham, Kent.
"Our banknotes acknowledge the life and work of great Britons. Sir Winston Churchill was a truly great British leader, orator and writer," Sir Mervyn said.
"Above that, he remains a hero of the entire free world. His energy, courage, eloquence, wit and public service are an inspiration to us all."
Current plans, which the Bank said might be reviewed, are for Churchill to appear on the new £5 note to be issued in 2016.
“Leave the past to history especially as I propose to write that history myself.”
