March 20, 2015

A very large household looked after Sir Winston’s needs. His private secretary and press officer was Anthony Montague Browne, who had also served him at 10 Downing Street. He commuted between Chartwell and London, 25 miles away.

Miss Grace Hamblin, who had begun secretarial work for Churchill in 1932, became secretary to Mrs. Churchill in 1939 and was placed in charge of the secretarial and accounts duties at Chartwell in 1945. She later became Administrator at Chartwell for the National Trust in 1965 and was secretary to the Churchill Centenary Exhibition in London in 1974. She lived in her cottage on the grounds at Chartwell.

Two junior secretaries attended to Sir Winston’s personal mail. One worked during the day, the other throughout the evening. They also arranged all trips, handled the telephone, organized the film showings and selected Sir Winston’s books at the library.

Private nurses were constantly in attendance to look after Sir Winston’s health, but his personal attendant was a male nurse, Roy Howells, who later wrote Churchill’s Last Years or Simply Churchill. A young Swiss boy, Walter, served as butler, later he was replaced by a Spaniard named Enrique. A chauffeur, Joe Bullock, maintained and drove the fleet of cars.