'Be ye men of valour'

19th May 1940: In his first radio broadcast as Prime Minister, Churchill is realistic about the threat - but rouses the nation for the fight ahead

Winston Churchill’s very first radio broadcast as Prime Minister had to tell the public just how bad the situation in France was - but he also managed to convey hope.

The situation in France was unravelling fast. The Germans had now secured their breakthrough in the gap they had forced north of the Maginot Line. The great bulk of the French Army was stil…