How a Yorkshire doctor kept the secret of Churchill's stroke

But now the story of how Sir Winston Churchill suffered a stroke but was able to remain in Downing Street is to feature in a new television drama.

And one of the lead characters in it is a Yorkshireman who played a key role in helping Sir Winston to recover.

Lord Moran, was Churchill’s friend, confidant and physician during both his spells as Prime Minister.

He administered the secret treatment of Churchill after he suffered a serious stroke in 1953, aged 78 – an event which, had it become public, could have forced him to resign as Prime Minister.

Lord Moran did not expect Churchill to survive the stroke, which was kept secret from his Cabinet and – thanks to an agreement from the press barons which would be unheard of today – the public.

Lord Moran - Charles McMoran Wilson - was born in Skipton in the 1880s and was a pupil at Pockington School in the East Riding from 1894 to 1899 before going on to study at St Mary’s Medical School in London.

During a distinguished career he earned the Military Cross for his services durng the Battle of the Somme, in World War One, as a medical officer, and later went on to become Churchill’s doctor during his time as Prime Minister.

Later as a politician in the House of Lords he was involved in debates leading up to the creation of the National Health Service in 1948. His negotiations between the medical profession and the Labour Government have been credited wth getting the NHS off the ground.

And his work on the effects of war on the minds of soldiers: The Anatomy of Courage is now seen as one of the first studies of post-traumatic stress disorder and was based on Lord Moran’s experiences on the frontline in the First World War.

In the new drama Lord Moran is played by Bill Paterson. Churchill’s Secret also stars Michael Gambon (as Churchill), Lindsay Duncan, Romola Garai and Matthew Macfadyen.

The feature-length film is based on Jonathan Smith’s book: The Churchill Secret but also draws on Lord Moran’s own book, Churchill: The Struggle for Survival 1945-60, which caused a storm when it was published shortly after Churchill’s death because of its medical detail. Churchill’s Secret will be shown on ITV but is being premiered at the Everyman Cinema, in Leeds, on Monday February 1 at 6.20pm.

Pocklington School’s headmaster Mark Ronan told the Yorkshire Post of the school’s pride that part of Lord Moran’s life story will be on national television. He is not only one of the school’s most illustrious former pupils but also helped to set up the Old Pockingtonian (OP) Society for the school.

Mr Ronan said: “We’re very excited about the forthcoming film featuring the remarkable Old Pocklingtonian Lord Moran.

“The story of his rise from Yorkshire schoolboy to someone held in such high esteem by society reflects Pocklington School’s tradition of truth and courage and is truly inspirational for current pupils. As Winston Churchill’s private physician from 1940 he was at the side of that great man throughout many of the defining moments in this nation’s recent history; Moran, in fact, saw it as his personal wartime duty to maintain Churchill’s health. Contemporary accounts show he was a remarkable, brave and shrewd man, to whom Churchill is quoted as saying: ‘It is wonderful that you have kept me going for so long’. He is an OP we are very proud of.”