英國央行:丘吉爾肖像將登新版英鎊
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 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.
Security measures
The design includes a portrait of the former prime minister, adapted from a photograph taken by Yousuf Karsh on 30 December 1941. He is the only politician from the modern era to feature on a banknote.
The artwork will also include:
Churchill's declaration "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" which came in a speech in the Commons on 13 May 1940
A view of Westminster and the Elizabeth Tower from the South Bank
The Great Clock showing three o'clock - the approximate time of the Commons speech
A background image of the Nobel Prize for literature, which he was awarded in 1953
Sir Mervyn said that this was an appropriate choice given the country's economic difficulties.
"We do not face the challenges faced by Churchill's generation. But we have our own," he said.
"The spirit of those words remains as relevant today as it was to my parents' generation who fought for the survival of our country and freedom under Churchill's leadership."
The Bank of England issues nearly a billion banknotes each year, and withdraws almost as many from circulation.
Notes are redesigned on a relatively frequent basis, in order to maintain security and prevent forgeries. Other security features include threads woven into the paper and microlettering.
The most recent new design from the Bank of England was the £50 note, which entered circulation in November. This features Matthew Boulton and James Watt who were most celebrated for bringing the steam engine into the textile manufacturing process.
While Bank of England notes are generally accepted throughout the UK, three banks in Scotland and four in Northern Ireland are authorised to issue banknotes.
Pharmacologist Sir Alexander Fleming, poet Robert Burns, and tyre inventor John Boyd Dunlop are among those who appear on these notes. One commemorative £5 note featuring football great George Best proved so popular that the limited edition of one million sold out in 10 days.
In May, a new five-euro note will be put into circulation by the European Central Bank.
It features an image of the Greek goddess Europa, which comes from a vase in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
History
The image of Churchill has featured on currency before. He was the first commoner to be shown on a British coin when he appeared on the 1965 crown, or five shilling piece.
Churchill, elected as a Conservative MP in 1900, served as chancellor in Stanley Baldwin's government.
He replaced Neville Chamberlain to become the wartime British prime minister in May 1940 until 1945. He returned to office in 1951, and retired in 1955, aged 80.
"The Bank is privileged to be able to celebrate the significant and enduring contribution Sir Winston Churchill made to the UK, and beyond," said Chris Salmon, chief cashier of the Bank of England, whose signature will also appear on the banknote.
Sir Nicholas Soames, Churchill's grandson and MP for Mid Sussex, said: "I think it is a wonderful tribute to him and an appropriate time. I can't think of any more marvellous thing that would have pleased him more."
He described the move as a great honour for the family.英國中央銀行英格蘭銀行宣佈，英國前首相溫斯頓·丘吉爾的肖像將登上2016年發行的新版英鎊。
這位戰時領袖的肖像，連同他的一句最著名語錄將出現在5英鎊鈔票的背面。
銀行行長默文·金表示，丘吉爾的入選源於他是“整個自由世界的英雄”。
這張面值5英鎊的鈔票目前使用的是社會改革家伊麗莎白·弗賴的肖像。
“真正偉大的領袖”
很多歷史人物出現在英格蘭銀行紙幣的背面，伊麗莎白·弗賴迄今爲止是其中唯一的女性。
儘管公衆可以提出建議，但誰出現在鈔票上還是由英格蘭銀行行長最後說了算。默文在肯特郡韋斯特勒姆查特韋爾的丘吉爾故居宣佈了使用其肖像的決定。
“我們的鈔票表彰英國偉人的生活和工作。溫斯頓·丘吉爾是一個真正偉大的英國領導人，演說家和作家，”默文說。
“不僅如此，他還是整個自由世界的英雄。他的精力、勇氣、口才、智慧和公共服務是對我們所有人的激勵。”
該銀行表示或許還要重新審查，但按當前計劃，丘吉爾將出現在2016年發行的新5英鎊鈔票上。
安全措施
設計包括前首相丘吉爾的一幅肖像，改編自優素福·卡什於1941年12月30日拍的一張照片。他是現代政治家中唯一出現在鈔票上的人。
鈔票樣板還將包括：
丘吉爾的名言“我所能奉獻的只有熱血、辛勞、淚水和汗水”，選自1940年5月13日在下議院的一次演講
從南岸看到威斯敏斯特和伊麗莎白塔的景色
大本鐘顯示3點-下議院演講的大概時間
背景是一副諾貝爾文學獎的圖像，他於1953年被授予該獎
默文說，考慮到英國的經濟困難，這是一個恰如其分的選擇。
“我們不必面對丘吉爾那一代人所面臨的挑戰。但是我們有自己的困難，”他說。
“今天，這句話的精神就跟對在丘吉爾領導下爲我們國家生存和自由浴血奮戰的我父母那一代人一樣仍然具有重大意義。”
英格蘭銀行每年發行近10億張鈔票，從流通收回幾乎同樣數量。
爲保持安全性，防止僞造，鈔票需要相對頻繁地重新設計。其它安全性功能包括在紙中編入防僞線和印上微縮字母。
英格蘭銀行最近的新設計是50英鎊鈔票，於去年11月進入流通領域。上面印有馬修·博爾頓和詹姆斯·瓦特的肖像，他們以將蒸汽機引入紡織生產過程而馳名天下。
雖然在整個英國通行英格蘭銀行發行的紙幣，但三家蘇格蘭銀行和四家北愛爾蘭也獲授權發行紙幣。
藥理學家亞歷山大·弗萊明爵士，詩人羅伯特·彭斯，輪胎髮明家約翰·博伊德·鄧祿普都出現在這些紙幣上。一張印有足球巨星喬治·貝斯特的5英鎊紀念鈔如此受人歡迎，以至於100萬限量版在10天內就全部賣光。
5月，歐洲央行將推出一張新的5歐元鈔票進入流通領域。
上面印有希臘女神歐羅巴的肖像，選自巴黎盧浮宮博物館的一個花瓶。
歷史
丘吉爾的肖像之前也曾出現在貨幣上。他曾出現在1965年的5先令克朗硬幣上，是英國硬幣上出現的第一個平民百姓。
丘吉爾於1900年當選爲保守黨議員，在斯坦利·鮑德溫政府中擔任大臣。
1940年5月，他接替內維爾·張伯倫成爲戰時英國首相，一直到1945年。他於1951年重新執政，1955年退休，時年80歲。
“銀行對於能慶祝溫斯頓·丘吉爾爵士對英國乃至英國以外所做的重大和不朽貢獻倍感榮幸，”英格蘭銀行的首席出納克里斯·塞爾蒙（Chris Salmon）說，他的簽名也將出現在鈔票上。
丘吉爾的孫子、中蘇塞克斯郡議員尼古拉斯·索米斯說：“我認爲這是對他最絕妙的讚美，合時合宜。我想不出還有什麼更奇妙的事比這更能使他高興的了。”
他將此舉看成是家族的一個偉大榮譽。
