A HISTORIAN from Greenock has ripped up the rule book over the popular view of wartime leader Winston Churchill in his radical new book.

Graeme Bowman, who has worked as a broadcaster and in television, has written Empire First: Churchill's War Against D-Day.

In his book the writer claims that his extensive research shows Churchill only agreed on D-Day as the result of being coerced by his allies Stalin and Roosevelt.

He argues in the self-published book that instead of throwing himself into the invasion of Normandy, he preferred to wage war on the “soft underbelly” of Europe, for example Italy when the allies were choosing where to invade Nazi-occupied Europe in 1943.

Graeme argues the celebrated wartime figure was more interested in holding up the Empire with gains than liberating Europe.

The 62-year-old said: "You could say that Churchill was the first Brexiteer.

"He wanted to put the British Empire first, he had to be pressured into D-Day by the Soviets and the Germans."

Graeme says that while most history books or films start with WW2 in 1939, he believes it has its roots in the era when Churchill was born and the British Empire ruled the world.

Graeme attended Lady Alice Primary and Greenock High School and graduated with a BA (Honours) First Class in Modern History from the University of Strathclyde.

He followed this with an MA in History at Carnegie University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and a PhD in History from King's College, Cambridge.

He said: "When D-Day is portrayed in television documentaries you don't get any sense of ongoing debate or discussions of what is going on behind the scenes between the Americans and the British.

"Churchill didn't want to do D-Day, he wanted to pursue a west allied operation in the Mediterranean, Italy and the Balkans and controlling the Eastern Mediterranean and Suez.

"Churchill was pursuing a Brexit military strategy, putting the British Empire before the liberation of Europe. He had a parochial view of the world."

Graeme says that his book is an attempt to add some balance about the iconic wartime leader, whose finest moment came in 1940 with the Battle of Britain.

He said: "He did do the right thing in 1940, but his mistakes such as his opposition to D-Day have been completely ignored.

"We are often only shown one side of Churchill, his good qualities. If you look at any person, they are not all good or all bad.

"Everything in this book has been researched."

The writer quotes Churchill himself in correspondence to his under-secretary of state for foreign affairs Air Alexander Cadogan on April 19, 1944.

He said: "[Overlord] has been forced upon us by the Russians and by the United States military authorities." 

Graeme's debut release has won plaudits including from the widely-respected Scottish historian Professor Sir Tom Devine.

He said: "I greatly enjoyed Empire First.

"It is well-researched, clear, fluent…a convincing indictment of the Churchill myth.

"A book with immense appeal for both specialist and lay readers. It was very satisfying to read such a book on a major subject."

Graeme has addressed the Inverclyde Historical Society as guest speaker about his book. For more information about it visit www.empirefirst.org