The International Churchill Society and COVID 19

A Letter From The Chairman and The President

“The discoveries of healing science must be the inheritance of all. That is clear. Disease must be attacked, whether it occurs in the poorest or the richest man or woman, simply on the ground that it is the enemy; and it must be attacked just in the same way as the fire brigade will give its full assistance to the humblest cottage as readily as to the most important mansion.”

—Winston Churchill, Speech to the Royal College of Physicians, 2 March 1944

Dear Friends of the International Churchill Society,

In times of trouble and uncertainty, people continue to look to the words and example of Sir Winston Churchill for inspiration and guidance. We trust that all of you are safe and following the recommended guidelines for containing the spread of the virus.

We want you to know how the pandemic has impacted the Churchill Society:

First: All ICS-affiliated events (local, national, and international) for the first half of 2020 have been postponed. This includes events hosted by our partners at America’s National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri, which is temporarily closed. Organizers look forward to rescheduling all missed events at a later time. We are grateful to Director Tim Riley for sourcing the Churchill quote at the heading of this notice.

Second: We do not at this time anticipate the need to postpone our international conference scheduled to take place in London next October 22–24. Registration for this event continues to remain open. We are, however, keeping all developments under regular review. If necessary, the conference will be postponed until 2021—but be assured that it will happen. We will continue to update you about this.

Third: The delivery schedule of Finest Hour and the Churchill Bulletin will not be disrupted. All of our editorial staff have always worked from home, and production of our journals and electronic media continues as normal. Our printer is classified as an “essential business” along with postal delivery. Members should expect to receive their copies of Finest Hour as normal.

Writing in A History of the English-speaking Peoples about the pandemic that engulfed the world in the fourteenth century, Churchill concluded: “At length the plague abated its force….Recoveries became more frequent; the resistant faculties of life revived. The will to live triumphed.” With that spirit in mind, “let us go forward together” with Churchillian fortitude. We hope to be able to announce some exciting new initiatives soon as part of our own fight against this global crisis.

Laurence Geller CBE, Chairman
Randolph Churchill, President

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