Bulletin #66 – Dec 2013

Heir to the Throne Accepts Award From Former PM Sir John Major

HRH The Prince of Wales and Sir John Major[London–20 November] HRH Prince Charles has been presented with the 2013 Sir Winston Churchill Award given by The Churchill Centre (UK) to those in public life who are displaying Churchillian qualities and traits. The ceremony took place at TCC UK’s annual award dinner in London. Guests included The Churchill Centre’s Patron Lady Soames and three generations of the Churchill family. Lord Marland, Chairman of The Churchill Centre (UK) and the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy, welcomed His Royal Highness and the distinguished guests. Former Prime Minister Sir John Major presented the award to the Prince with the observation: “Our recipient tonight has–over the years–faced his own criticism, his own setbacks, yet held firm to his own beliefs. That is the first of many reasons he is truly worthy of the award made to him.” Read More >

Avril & Mark Weber in Washington, DC

Introducing Those Who Specialize in the Sale of Churchill Books: The Churchill Book Specialist in Tucson, Arizona

This month we complete our series profiling rare book dealers who specialize in the works of Winston Churchill by speaking with Mark Weber, owner of The Churchill Book Specialist in Tuscon, Arizona.

CB: Who are you?

MW: I and my wife, Avril, are the proprietors of The Churchill Book Specialist, a mailorder bookseller specializing in all manner of Churchill collectibles. Our inventory is not limited to fine (and expensive) first editions. We also stock almost all editions of books by Churchill including low-cost copies and foreign-language versions. Additionally, we carry books about Churchill, books with contributions from Churchill, pamphlets and a wide array of Churchill ephemera, which can be viewed at our website www.wscbooks.com. Read More >

Video of Distinguished Historian Speaking at Cornell University

Andrew Roberts at 30th International Churchill Conference in WashingtonFresh from speaking at the 30th International Churchill Conference in Washington, D.C., Dr. Andrew Roberts spoke in his capacity as the inaugural Merrill Family Visiting Professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. While the title of his talk was “Winston Churchill: Brilliant Statesman or Brutal Demagogue”, in fact Dr. Roberts spoke about Churchill’s reputation today, how it is viewed and what people say. The 35 minute talk was followed by 20 minutes of questions and answers from students and faculty. Dr. Roberts addressed some of the persistent myths and often bizarre claims, all of which have been refuted. While Churchill’s historical reputation appears well established in the public mind, there has been a trend over the last generation among authors to disparage this image. Dr. Roberts offers some explanations for this and places these revisionist theories in perspective. To view the video, please CLICK HERE. Read More >

Churchill and New Zealand (and Canada and the Netherlands)

Finest Hour number 161 will be published in January 2014. The long-awaited “New Zealand Number” is finally here! As Editor Richard M. Langworth notes, issues of Finest Hour with contents themed to each of the Great Dominions were envisioned long ago. But while Canada and Australia have received their treatment, only now has New Zealand received the attention it has long deserved. Mike Groves, who leads “Churchill’s Dining Club” in Auckland, writes the lead story about “A State of Mutual Affection: Churchill & New Zealand.” Gerald Hensley examines two war-time prime ministers in “Fraser & Churchill: A Working Partnership.” Intrinsic to his story is the illustrious Lt. Gen Sir Bernard Freyberg, whom Churchill greeted after the first battle of El Alamein with the words, “thank God you are here” and recommended for the Garter to go along with his Victoria Cross. Read More >

Celia Sandys Follows Her Grandfather’s Footsteps In Ottawa

The Speaker With Celia Sandys stand where the “Roaring Lion” portrait was takenAt the invitation of the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa, Celia Sandys arrived in Ottawa from London for two days of pre-Churchill birthday activities in which she retraced her grandfather’s steps in Canada’s capital. Churchill travelled to Canada nine times between 1900 and 1954. On six of those trips, he visited Ottawa, where, on the 30th of December 1941, just over three weeks after Pearl Harbor and four days after his first speech to the American Congress, he delivered to the Canadian Parliament one of his most inspiring wartime addresses, which included the famous “Some chicken ! Some neck !” taunt of the Vichy regime.
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Walker Discusses His New Book About What Might Have Been
Report by the Editor

[London–24 October] Speaking to an audience of over 100 people at the Polish Hearth Club, Mr. Jonathan Walker discussed Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s secret plan to attack the Soviet Union in 1945 in order to “save” Poland. Although the once closely-guarded secret was long ago declassified, Walker is the first historian to give the subject a thorough going over. That Churchill even considered the idea is astonishing, but as the war in Europe wound down, the Prime Minister became concerned by the disappearance of Polish leaders and members of the resistance under the Soviet occupation. Grimly aware that defending Polish independence had been Britain’s stated purpose for declaring war in 1939, Churchill commissioned the Chiefs of Staff in April 1945 to draw up a most desperate plan. Read More >