May 8, 2015

Finest Hour 111, Summer 2001

Page 21

Paul H. Courtenay, Hon. Secretary, ICS (UK)

Paul was eleven in 1945 and, though only superficially aware of the election then taking place, has a clear recollection of feeling bewildered and somehow betrayed when Churchill, such a towering and indispensable figure for almost as long as he could remember, lost office. He became an avid reader of The Second World War as each volume appeared, and acquired a corpus of knowledge about the author. Although his father sometimes shared political platforms with Churchill in the 1930s, Paul regrets that he only twice set eyes on the great man.

He passed through RMA Sandhurst, where one aged servant claimed to remember Gentleman Cadet Churchill 58 years earlier—just at the edges of credibility! He was commissioned into The Royal Sussex (later merged into The Queen’s Regiment), with which he travelled the world with ICS UK chairman Nigel Knocker, who has been giving him orders ever since. After duty in Germany, Korea, Gibraltar and Libya, Paul became an Army pilot in Kenya which, with a new wife, made this the most memorable period of his life. Bush pilot duties took him from East Africa to Kuwait (as part of a force to deter a threatened Iraqi invasion—30 years before it materialised but 40 years after Churchill had predicted it). His final period of active flying found him in Cyprus, where he recalls being buzzed by a Turkish Sabre high above Nicosia when the Greeks and Turks first started having a go at each other.

After more assignments in Malta, South Arabia, Germany, Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, and Cyprus, punctuated by attendance at Staff Colleges in UK and Virginia, Paul was appointed Commanding Officer of one of his regiment’s battalions in the Territorial Army (part-time reservists). After eight and one-half years in the Ministry of Defence, he retired after 35 years’ service to his country.

2024 International Churchill Conference

Join us for the 41st International Churchill Conference. London | October 2024

More

Paul then joined the Independent Broadcasting Authority (responsible for all non-BBC television and radio) in London. His final move was to the City, where he joined the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He says that chartered accountants are very good at organising other people, but need someone to organise them.

Paul jumped to become Hon. Secretary of ICS (UK) when ordered by Nigel to take over. He also runs Heraldry courses and, with his wife Sara, keeps a keen eye on his four married children and seven grandchildren, all within 11/2 hours of his village, halfway between Salisbury and Winchester.

William C. Ives, Vice-President, Churchill Center (USA)

Bill was twelve during the 1945 British election, which he is sorry he missed, while agreeing with Paul Courtenay about the outcome. He attended Knox College (History and Political Science, Phi Beta Kappa, 1955) and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1960. He has been chairman of the management committee of a 350-lawyer, ten-office national law firm, specializing in anti-trust, trade and professional associations, international law and regulatory agencies. He is currently a senior partner with the Chicago office of Michael, Best & Friedrich. His military service was in the Army Counter-intelligence Corps in Germany, where he emerged as a 1st Lieutenant. Though he held a pilots license, he met his greatest asset as an airline passenger: he is married to the vivacious Virginia, a senior flight attendant for Delta Airlines, has three children and eight grandchildren. He has served as a Presidential Elector (1968-72-76), delegate to the 1976 Republican National Convention and a member of the Rules Committee and chaired several Illinois political campaigns.

Every Churchill Center governor who plays golf has probably been bested by Bill Ives, notably on his treacherous home course at the Governors Club, Chapel Hill, N.C., where Bill and Virginia make their home, complete with an expansive toy room containing Bill’s fine collection of Churchilliana, first editions, videos, and the massed naval might of the World War II contending nations, all in exquisite metal miniatures. On a map in his basement work-out room, Bill and Virginia have affixed pins to signify their world travels. They have visited over 200 countries. Bill has written and spoken about several trips to the former USSR since 1953, and has appeared on “Today” and other national TV and radio shows.

Bill Ives has served as Vice-President of The Churchill Center since its founding in 1995 and was Vice-President of its predecessor, ICS (USA), for a similar period; this year he chairs our International Conference in San Diego. He is careful to note that he is not “our attorney,” but his legal and political experience have been helpful on everything from registering our trademark to keeping our editorial mouth shut when we have been tempted to do quite the opposite. Each President of The Churchill Center since its inception has had ample cause to be grateful on countless occasions that Bill was there.