Sir Winston Churchill died 50 years ago in March 1964.  Acknowledged as one of Britain’s greatest Prime Ministers, who inspired the country to success in the Second World War, what is less known is his interest and support of scientific achievements that not only helped win the Second World War but brought peace-time benefits afterwards.

The exhibition Churchill’s Scientists at the Science Museum in London explores just how many achievements we take for granted today were discovered or invented during Churchill’s time as Prime Minister including the discovery of DNA, the invention of radar, the production of penicillin and antibiotics and the invention of the atom bomb.

Churchill’s great grandson, Randolph told BBC News: “It is remarkable to think that in 1895 he participated in one of the last great cavalry charges of our time yet he was to see the first man in space. That change, nobody will see the like again.”

Churchill’s personal interest helped support an era of scientific research and achievement during and after the Second World War in a wide range of fields that may has enabled Britain to recover from the Second World War and remain at the leading edge of scientific invention 50 years after his death.