I ended up having a good deal of fun with the Churchill GC, ended up making it Elite before moving on to the AT-7.
The stories are true, it is a mediocre tank, but not nearly as impossible to play as many would suggest. I'd recommend Binocs, camo net for equipment. Crew Skills: 6th sense of course, and clutch braking. Clutch Braking will help you escape ez pz. 
Also, something to note: The GC only really comes into it's own at the top gun. The first two guns can deal damage, but only just. Until you get the top gun, focus on tracking enemies rather than killing them. Once you finally make your way to the 32-pounder gun at the top, the GC becomes a heavy killer. Likely you'll be the only one on your team who can pen and damage Heavies frontally. Picky heavyweight, thickly armored targets.
Hope that helps! As a final thought, I found it very rewarding to get kills with "the worst tank in the game". Practice with it and it feels great to do well with it, or at least do passably well.