June 1, 2015

Finest Hour 107, Summer 2000

Page 09

10 MAY 2000

Sixty Years On

“Thus, then, on the night of the tenth of May, at the outset of this mighty battle, I acquired the chief power in the State, which henceforth I wielded in ever-growing measure for five years and three months of world war, at the end of which time, all our enemies having surrendered unconditionally or being about to do so, I was immediately dismissed by the British electorate from all further conduct of their affairs.”
-WSC, The Gathering Storm, 1948

London

Honoring USS Winston S. Churchill
MAY IOTH— The Lame Borough Council, County Antrim, presented an historic plaque including a crest of the USS Winston S. Churchill to Commanding Officer Michael Franken in a ceremony in the Churchill Room, House of Commons. The plaque also commemorates the historic ancestry of Sir Winston Churchill through the Marlborough and Londonderry families. (Churchill inherited the Garron Tower Estates at Carnlough, in the Borough of Larne; he later sold them to help finance his purchase of Chartwell.) The Seal and Signatures of the Duke of Marlborough and the Marquis of Londonderry are included on the plaque. The Sponsor was Councillor Roy Beggs, MP, and the presentation was made in the presence of Councillor Joian M. Drummond, Mayor of Larne, members of the Churchill family and officials of the United States and UK governments.

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Toronto

MAY IOTH— The Other Club of Toronto held a wonderful commemorative dinner at the Albany Club with 112 attending a speech by The Honourable Bob Rae, full of passion, sincerity and emotion. Churchill Center President and Toronto resident John Plumpton writes: “Mr. Rae is the former NDP (Socialist) Premier of Ontario. He is a great admirer of WSC (one of the reasons his own party turned on him). He spoke on Churchill as prophet and leader and it was the most inspiring, moving Churchill address I have ever heard. Unfortunately it was without notes and unrecorded. You could hear a pin drop in an audience of over 100.” Dozens of membership brochures left with the attendees swelled the membership of ICS Canada, which has lately grown dramatically, reports President Randy Barber. Future events contact: Norman MacLeod, 16 Glenlaura Court, Ashburn, ON LOB 1A0, tel. (905) 655-4051.

Boston

MAY 1OTH— New England Churchillians sponsored a dinner marking the anniversary at the Lenox Hotel, preceded by a speech by syndicated columnist and Boston Herald writer Don Feder. Mr. Feder chose as his subject the question of freedom in the life of Elian Gonzales, a subject which entailed considerable debate in the Q&A session. Don was introduced by the editor, who reminded the audience of Churchill’s Rule 12 of The Other Club: “Nothing in the rules of the club shall interfere with the rancour and asperity of party politics.” At the subsequent and sumptuous dinner, the assemblage of forty heard a reading of Churchill’s recollections of this date sixty years ago from his war memoirs. We also balanced our books by a spirited auction of the first English edition of said memoirs, contributed by Churchillbooks and won by Gerald Zeitlin.

Coming Up: 30 November

New England Churchillians convene again on Thursday 30 November next, at a black tie dinner to mark Sir Winston’s 126th birthday. The speaker will be Dr. Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr., President of the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, whose address takes as its title the splendid essay by Isaiah Berlin: “Mr. Churchill in 1940.” New England members will receive invitations automatically. Future events contact: Suzanne Sigman, 42 Dudley Lane, Milton MA 02186, tel. (617) 696-1833, email [email protected].

Anchorage

MAY 1OTH— Alaska Churchillians celebrated the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Alaska Chapter of the International Churchill Society in 1990, and the sixtieth anniversary of Churchill’s first premiership in 1940, at a black-tie dinner at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, attended by 21 members. Toasts to the President and the Queen were offered by Julie Ake and Walter Featherly, while Andrew Brown offered a toast to the memory of Sir Winston.

Officers newly taking up ten-year terms are Brooke Marston, vice-president; Michael Padden, secretary; and Peter Gamache, treasurer. Jim Muller continues as president. Walter Featherly was thanked for his ten years’ service as vicepresident from 1990-2000. Each of the new officers read a passage from one of Churchill’s speeches at the dinner, except that Linda Padden stood in for her husband, who was traveling.

The speaker was Diddy R. M. Hitchins, Professor of Political Science at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, and Honorary British Consul for Alaska, who spoke on “Churchill and the Westminster Model of Parliamentary Democracy.” Her controversial speech, explaining to the audience that admiration for Churchill is more general in the United States than in Britain, nevertheless included praise of Churchill’s mastery of the English language in his speeches and writings.

The dinner closed as a great red sun sank behind the Sleeping Lady across the waters of Cook Inlet, with the unveiling on a slide screen of Byron Birdsall’s new canvas depicting Churchill painting the twin peaks of Mount McKinley (this issue’s cover). Prints of the new painting will be given to Goldpanner Sponsors of the 17th International Churchill Conference in Anchorage September 13-17th.

Washington

MAY 21ST— George Washington University presented Sir Martin Gilbert with an honorary Doctor of Letters at its last commencement ceremony in the 20th century. In presenting the degree on the Ellipse below the White House, before an audience of more than 20,000 attendees, GWU president Stephen Trachtenberg said, “You, Sir Martin Gilbert, have been both a scholar of events and a historian of a great man and have created a narrative that holds our culture together….Your approach to your work is comprehensive and your attention to detail is legendary. We venture to say that, unless you’ve written about it, no event of the 20th century could truly be said to have happened.” On the commencement program page devoted to his background and accomplishments, Sir Martin advised the new graduates “to take stock, to reconsider, to gain from your mistakes, to build on your experiences.”

Sir Martin was on campus for the better part of three days. During the first, he signed copies of his new book, Never Again: A History of the Holocaust. He was interviewed by National Public Radio among several other media appearances. At an intimate dinner with members of both the University and local Jewish community, Sir Martin held those present in the palm of his hand with an hour of Churchill anecdotes including a discussion of the role of code breaking on the Russian front in 1941. A number of students and others brought books to be inscribed to the various events.

On May 19th, at what to many was the core event of his visit, Sir Martin gave a brief address at the University’s interfaith baccalaureate service, speaking about “Winston S. Churchill: Ruminations of a Lifetime.” He focused on Churchill’s humane aspects, suggesting three themes that illustrate WSC’s life: 1) protection of citizens by the state within a democratic context, exemplified by Churchill’s early concerns for the less fortunate; 2) the rights of the individual in war and peace, ranging from Churchill’s imprisonment during the Boer War, to the British criminal justice system and the seven questions he suggested as the test of a democracy; and 3) Churchill’s understanding of the nature of war, as both a serving soldier and as a national leader, illustrated by analysis of Churchill’s quest for a postwar summit conference to ease Cold War tensions. Gilbert concluded with a quote from Churchill’s last speech as prime minister in 1955, ending with the words that provide the title of the last volume of the official biography: “…never despair.”
-Christopher H. Sterling
Associate Dean for Graduate Affairs

Gallipoli Remembered

BLANDFORD, DORSET, JUNE 2ND— A Small but impressive ceremony is held on the downs near Blandford, where there is a modest memorial to the men of the Collingwood Battalion who were killed at the Third Battle of Krithia, Gallipoli on 4 June 1915. This year the ceremony took place on 2 June, as the adjoining military base was not available on a weekend!

For 50 years the ceremony has been organised by Roy Adam, who was awarded an MBE in the Millennium Honours for his service; his father, who had served in the Royal Naval Division, had organised the service prior to this. To mark Roy’s service his many friends collected funds which will enable him to make a long cherished journey to Gallipoli. In addition, Champagne Pol Roger have most generously presented him with a magnum of Sir Winston Cuve’e 1988.

The founder of the Royal Naval Division was of course Winston Churchill, who took pride in his founding throughout his life.
-David Saunders
The Gallipoli Association*

*Note: Any reader interested in the Gallipoli Association may contact Mr. Saunders by email: [email protected].

Churchill Conference XVIII

San Diego, 4-8 November 2001
SAN DIEGO, JUNE 7TH— Our 2001 Conference in California, previously scheduled for August, has been moved to November 4th through 8th, those days being arrival and departure dates. The venue is the historic and magnificent Hotel Del Coronado, and special low rates have been negotiated for our members. Also, there will be alternate lower priced accommodations available.

The date was altered by California organizers and The Churchill Center’s President and Vice President, John Plumpton and Bill Ives, who met here today. August is very a hot time, with heavy tourism that means much higher prices and fewer alternative accommodations. San Diego is at its balmy best in November, when the weather will prove a respite to visitors from the north and east.

The conference theme involves Churchill’s model of leadership and may extend to the many depictions of Sir Winston on film. There will be an optional dinner on the Queen Mary at Long Beach, and other excursions, on November 7th. The bulk of panels, workshops, discussions and banquets will occur on the 5th and 6th, so you may tailor your stay to your own schedule and budget.

Do put these dates in your calendar now for what promises to be one of our largest and most exciting conferences, the first in California in ten years.

“The Churchill Connection”

CHATHAM, KENT— Restoration is nearing completion of the motor launch Havengore, which bore Sir Winston’s coffin up the Thames in the last public act of the state funeral (see FH 97), and the Havengore Trust is planning future activities. The historic launch has been offered a permanent berth at Chatham Maritime, a high quality residential, commercial and leisure regeneration project of South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). Shepherd Neame, a hotel/restaurant/pub complex due to open in August, is naming its restaurant “Havengore” and will give several conference rooms Churchill-related names.

The Havengore Trust’s first initiative is an exhibition entitled “The Churchill Connection” at St. George’s Centre, the ex-HMS Pembroke naval church, in conjunction with Medway Council, SEEDA and the Churchill Archives Centre, and with generous support from the Imperial War Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms. Admission is free and the exhibit will be open daily from noon until 5 PM through August 27th. The focus is on Kentish links with Sir Winston.

Mrs. Everest, Sir Winston’s famous nanny, came from Chatham and was partly responsible for Churchill’s love of Kent, where he found Chartwell in 1922. Post-WW2 Churchill received honorary membership of the Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men. Earlier, he had learned to fly at Cliffe and Eastchurch airfields, and had made many visits to Kent as First Lord of the Admiralty Jn both world wars. In 1946 he was installed into the ancient office of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and given Freedoms of the Cities of Rochester, Hastings and Deal. Contemporary accounts record the Rochester deputation visiting Hyde Park Gate for the conferment, toasting Sir Winston with Champagne in his own home, and enjoying tea in the garden, where WSC presented a gift cigar to each man. One of those cigars is among the exhibits at St. George’s Centre.

“The Churchill Connection” is a toein-the-water effort to ascertain interest, with a view to creating a permanent and comprehensive exhibition and tribute to Sir Winston Churchill, supported by Havengore when in her home base. Havengore will also, in association with The Churchill Archives Centre and ICS (UK), travel around the British coast and through the rivers and canals of Europe. Fulfilling an educational role, she will carry students on an exciting and stimulating programme focused on modern history and Churchill’s life and philosophy. At her ports of call she will promote relevant exhibitions and events.

At the opening of the exhibition on May 19th, CC/ICS honorary member Winston Churchill was guest of honour, and toasted his grandfather courtesy of Champagne Pol Roger. Several involved in the state funeral were among other guests: Lt. Col. Anthony Mather, commander of the bearer party of Grenadier Guards; Mr. R. Ambrose, skipper of Havengore; and Mayor Anderson of Rochester, who in 1951 offered Sir Winston Freedom of the City and who later attended the Hyde Park Gate conferment. The Mayor of Medway, mayors or representatives from three of the Cinque Ports, Port of London Authority, Medway Council and SEEDA attended, as well as members of ICS (UK) and the Churchill Archives Centre.
-Sally Browne
([email protected])

* Readers may like to visit the Havengore Trust website, which they will find at www.havengore.com.

Local Organizers: USA

The Churchill Center encourages local events. Local organizations may become CC Affiliates, which involves certain legal requirements. For information on Affiliates, or local organizing in general, please contact our Secretary, Dr. John Mather (see page 2). Here are the names of every U.S. local organizer known to us, each of whom welcomes your help and ideas. If you don’t find your area listed, contact our Secretary for details on organizing locally. Although our complete mailing list is private, we can provide address labels for specific area mailings.

Washington, DC Area Affiliate:
Washington Society for Churchill
Caroline Hartzler, President
PO Box 2456, Merrifield VA 22116
tel. (703) 503-9226

Local Organizers:
Anchorage: James Muller
1518 Airport Heights Dr., Anchorage AK
99508, tel. (907) 786-4740,
email [email protected]

California: Curt Zoller
21335 Amora Street, Mission Viejo CA
92692, tel. (949) 581-6834,
email [email protected]

Chicago: Joe Just
16 W. 251 S. Frontage Rd #25, Burr Ridge IL
60521, tel. 630-654-3500

Detroit: Gary Bonine
9000 E. Jefferson Ave, Apt 28-6, Detroit MI
48214, tel. (313)823-2951

New England: Suzanne Sigman
42 Dudley La., Milton MA 02186, tel. (617)
696-1833, email [email protected]

North Texas: Dave Willette
6452 Lakehurst Ave., Dallas TX 75230
tel. (214) 750-6609

Northern Ohio: Michael McMenamin
Walter Haverfield, 1300 Terminal Tower
Cleveland OH 44113, tel. (216) 781-1212,
email [email protected]

Philadelphia
Richard Raffauf, 116 Hampshire Road,
Reading PA 19608, tel. (610) 777-1653,
email [email protected]

Seepage two for local organisations in Canada and Great Britain.