May 2, 2011

CHURCHILLIANS-BY-THE-BAY

by Gregory B. Smith

On March 12th, Churchillians-by-the-Bay met at the Munras Inn in Monterey, CA and enjoyed presentations by two men whose forebears were intimately involved with the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation. Steve Harper gave a presentation on his grandfather James Proctor’s involvement, along with a detailed narrative of the nine day evacuation with special emphasis on the small ships that participated, including the one captained by his grandfather, a Royal Navy Reserve volunteer. This was followed by a presentation by David Ramsay on his father, Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, the chief planner of the evacuation. It was noted that the two men, Proctor and Sir Bertram knew each other. David’s presentation gave an account of his father’s career and his key role in the Dunkirk evacuation.

Steve Harper then continued with a presentation on the Normandy invasion, and Ramsay’s role in it’s planning, emphasizing the theme of “good leadership and good planning.”

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Q & A continued through lunch. About 30 attendees participated and a silent auction of Churchill books and items raised several hundred dollars for the organization.

Our next meeting on May 14th at the same location will feature Michael McMenamin, the author of the critically acclaimed book Becoming Winston Churchill. See the Calendar of Events for more information.