"British Political Personalities 1936-1945" The Churchill Coalition Government 11 May 1940 - 23 May 1945: Lord Beaverbrook (left) at a conference held at the Headquarters of the US Office of Production Management in Washington. William S Knudsen, OPM Director-General, is seen on the right. Beaverbrook had held political office in the First World War and built up a newspaper empire. He entered Churchill's War Cabinet in August 1940 as Minister of Aircraft Production (1940 - 1941); Minister of Supply (1941 - 1942) and Lord Privy Seal (1943 - 1945).