Born to an aristocratic family, Churchill served with distinction during the Second Boer War, using his fame earned there to launch into a brilliant political career. Starting in the Conservative Party, Churchill notoriously crossed the bench to the Liberals when he felt his own ideals were under threat from the Tory mainstream thought. Rising quickly in the Liberal Party, Churchill achieved the post of Home Secretary in 1910, a post which would lead him to conflict with the major force behind the Unions, Vladimir Lenin.