SPRING 2006 â¢ NUMBER 130 - Winston Churchill

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was with Churchill throughout the war, and stayed on towork with Attlee. Rowan was Churchill’s first choicewhen he resumed office in 1951, but was not available,so Colville got the job. And there is Anthony MontagueBrowne, who, save only for Clementine, saw more ofChurchill in his last years than anybody else.But there are no signatures from John Martin,the other Principal Private Secretary during the wartimegovernment; from Peter Oates, who held that post duringthe 1951-55 government; David Hunt, who servedboth Attlee and Churchill, and many others who workedclosely with WSC. Undoubtedly some or all of themmade day visits, but there is no record of their passage.And among the women secretaries who worked withhim before, during and after the war there are only threesignatures: Elizabeth Gilliatt, Kathleen Hill and MargeryStreet. Grace Hamblin, the most famous secretary of alland the first administrator of Chartwell, never signed.Military figures bulk large in the Visitors Book.There are signatures from Alexander and Montgomery(with whom Churchill became close in the postwaryears; on one page there are four Monty signatures withnobody visiting in between). There are also Paget,Spears, Ismay, Ironside and Keyes—but no recorded visitfrom Alanbrooke. His alloyed admiration for Churchillprobably prevented sufficient room for friendship.Lastly there are the names we don’t know!The Visitors Book project at Chartwell is aimedat providing brief biographic notes of all signatories,together with notes of as many of the visits as we candiscover. The people fall into four categories. They are:(1) those for whom we have a biographic note; (2) thosefor whom we think we have a note—that is, we are notentirely sure it’s the right person; (3) those for whom weas yet can’t find a reference; and (4) those on whom wehave yet to start work.The people in category 3 are the ones who tantalise.Who were Berwick Allen, Pleasance Hugesson,George Kingsley, F Price? We are still searching andhope to find them (and many others).In the meantime, the Visitors Book remains; awitness to the comings and goings of the famous and ofthe unknown and a succinct and comprehensive summaryof the history of Churchill and Chartwell. ,The Visitors Book: Most Frequent Signatures and a List of Churchill’sTEN OR MORE ENTRIESThe following appear mostoften, which does not necessarilymean they occupy thesame order in actual visits:Lord Cherwell(Frederick Lindemann) 86Sylvia Henley 85Diana Churchill-Bailey-Sandys 74Field Marshal Montgomery 46Jack Churchill (brother) 41Nellie Romilly 41Celia Sandys 36Brendan Bracken 31Duncan Sandys 26Anthony MontagueBrowne 24Julian Sandys (grandson) 23Goonie Churchill(sister-in-law) 22Jock & Margaret Colville 21Eddie Marsh 20Edwina Sandys 20Peregrine Churchill(nephew) 18Randolph Churchill 18Archie & Marigold Sinclair 16Johnny Churchill(nephew) 16June Churchill(daughter-in-law) 14Sarah Churchill 14Winston Churchill(grandson) 14Violet Bonham Carter 10SECRETARIESCompiled from references inbiographies, the ChurchillArchives, and individuals, thislist includes those known tohave worked for WSC, eitheras employees or Civil Serviceappointees. There are probablyomissions; more informationis most welcome.Annette AnningHarry BeckenhamMillicent BroomheadLorna CowperGwen DaviesLettice FisherPhyllis ForbesChips GemmellElizabeth Gilliatt 1Monica GrahamCorporal Geoffrey Green 2Grace Hamblin 3Olive HarringtonFINEST HOUR 130 / 36Anne HipwellKathleen Hill 1Marian Holmes 1(later Walker Spicer)Patrick Kinna 2Elizabeth Layton 1 (later Nel)Lettice Marston(later Shillingford)Gillian MaturinR S McHale 4Phyllis Moir 5Delia MortonElizabeth OakdenViolet Pearman (“Mrs. P”)Mary PenmanJane Portal(later Lady Williams)Doreen PughVanda SalmonMaud StanleyMargery StreetMary Shearburn 1(later Thompson 6 )Catherine SnellingDorothy SpencerJo Sturdee 1(later Countess of Onslow)Joyce TallentsJoan TaylorPenelope WallEdith Watson 7Footnotes1 Wartime secretaries.2 Usually referred to asChurchill’s shorthand writer;Corporal Green was his assistant.They accompaniedChurchill on overseas tripsbefore female secretaries wereallowed to travel.3 Later Personal Assistant toClementine and subsequentlythe first administrator atChartwell.4 Miss McHale’s nameappears upon many documentsin the Churchill archive. Todate her given names are undiscovered.5 Temporary secretaryemployed in the United Statesin 1931, from which thin experienceshe wrote, I Was WinstonChurchill’s Private Secretary.6 Mary Shearburn marriedWalter Thompson, Churchill’sScotland Yard bodyguard.7 The only female in thePrivate Secretaries’ Office inDowning Street in 1940. Shehad been there since the time of
E M E R Y R E V E S A W A R D 2 0 0 5THE CHURCHILL CENTRE’S benefit dinner in Chicago November 8th honored Tom Brokawfor lifetime achievement in journalism. Emery Reves would have been proud.A Tribute to Tom BrokawA NIGHT TO REMEMBER. Celia Sandys, Bill Ives and Richard Langworth present The Churchill Centre’s2005 Emery Reves Award for Achievement in Journalism to Tom Brokaw.The Churchill Centre’s proud mission is to fosterleadership, statesmanship, vision and boldnessamong democratic and freedom-loving peoplesworldwide through the thoughts, words, worksand deeds of Winston Spencer Churchill. As itscochairman of Trustees I wish to say how very delighted wewere to welcome and honor particularly one of our nation’smost respected journalists, authors, citizens, and commentators:Tom Brokaw of NBC News.I can’t personally think of a more worthy recipient ofthe Emery Reves Award—which we bestow only periodically—thanTom. All of our Trustees and Governors weremost grateful for his willingness to be with us.On behalf of the City of Chicago, I was proud to welcomeeverybody who travel far to be with us at the secondaward event we’ve hosted in this virbrant city. And as ChiefExecutive of Strategic Hotels and Resorts, owners of theIntercontinental Hotel, we were privileged to be the sponsorof this significant event and I hope we continue to doso for years ahead.There are so many to thank—my friend Celia Sandys,Sir Winston Churchill’s granddaughter, the inimitableChirs Matthews, FH editor Richard Langworth: all of themMr. Geller is Cochairman of the Churchill Centre’s Board of Trusteesand President and CEO of Strategic Hotels and Resorts, Chicago.fellow Trustees. And Mary Ellen Viskocil, my partner andcolleague, please stand! I have a request from everyone here:Could you please lose their phone numbers?It is my privilege merely to convey some of the wordsspoken on November 8th, which I can best do by referringto the transcript, which will be published in full inChurchill Proceedings 2004-2005. —Laurence GellerChris MatthewsChurchill—his words explaiswhy I like him so much: “All theyears that I’ve been in [the Houseof Representatives —I’m sorry]the House of Commons, I’vealways said to myself one thing –‘Do Not Interrupt.’ I’ve neverbeen able to keep to that resolution.”Neither have I.When he turned sixty, Franklin Roosevelt saidChurchill, “It is fun to be in the same decade with you.”Tonight we share the delight in being in the same languagewith him, with respect for who he was and what he did.More than thirty years ago I remember standing downin the stacks at the Library of Congress staring at a volumeentitled Winston Churchill: A Study in Failure. As the greatman himself might say: “Some study—some failure.” >>FINEST HOUR 130 / 37
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Page 25 and 26: which he is identified that is the
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SPRING 2006 â¢ NUMBER 130 - Winston Churchill