April 17, 2015

Finest Hour 121, Winter 2003-04

Page 10

Events are also covered by our fraternal publication, the Chartwell Bulletin.


Enigma Conference in April

WASHINGTON— The Churchill Centre has combined with The Bletchley Park Trust, Christ Church Oxford and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC to sponsor an exciting programme, “Enigma and the Secret Intelligence War,” on April 25th-28th. Registration deadline is at the end of December, so act fast to join.

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The programme is based on a memorable conference held in 2002 at Christ Church, Oxford, in conjunction with The Bletchley Park Trust. Speakers include Trever Rowley of Kellog College Oxford; Christine Large, Bletchley Park’s director; Dr. David Kahn, author of The Code Breakers; Michael Smith, defence correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, David Hamer, visiting research scholar at Bletchley; and Barbara Eachus, who worked at Bletchley’s codebreaking operations beginning in 1939. The breaking of the increasingly sophisticated German Enigma codes is the major topic.

The conference begins Sunday afternoon April 25th with a wind-up breakfast on Wednesday the 28th. There is an optional excursion to the International Spy Museum, and the host hotel is the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Virginia, six miles from Washington. For anyone interested in Churchill and wartime code-breaking, this is a fine opportunity.

Conference registration costs $1185 per person and includes the full program, three breakfasts, two private dinners, one lunch and opening and closing drinks receptions. Hotel accommodation costs $249 and the Spy Museum excursion $48. A deposit of $600 plus one nights’s room and tax is required. Cancellation penalties apply after 28 February.

To register or request further information please contact USA Host Housing Services, 1055 E. Tropicana, Suite 530, Las Vegas NV 89119, telephone (877) 584-6787, fax (702) 5970264 or consult their website, www.usahosts.com/housing.

Washington

BURKE, VA., AUGUST 10th— The Washington Society for Churchill, a CC affiliate, held its annual summer picnic again at Oaks Community Center. Marking the 100th anniversary of powered flight, George Washington University faculty member Chris Sterling spoke on Churchill’s aviation pioneering including his quest for a pilot’s license, starting the Royal Navy Air arm, his time at the Air Ministry, the first steps toward regular airline operations, and his famous wartime and postwar air travels. Churchill’s air career was truly expansive, covering everything from the earliest fragile biplanes to jetliners. Sterling’s presentation featured a display collecton of photos, documents and books.

Churchill and Sandys

NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 10TH—Winston Churchill and Celia Sandys provided a “family reading” from their two new books, Ms. Sandys’ Chasing Churchill and Mr. Churchill’s collection of his grandfather’s speeches, Never Give In! (both reviewed last issue), at Chartwell Booksellers on 52nd Street, Manhattan. Champagne by Pol Roger enlivened the occasion.

Sandys and Churchill are traveling the United States promoting their books. Celia Sandys is making three trips, involving many appearances including several before Churchill Centre audiences: Washington, New York, Boston and Fulton, Mo., in November; San Francisco and Los Angeles in December; Charleston, South Carolina, Gainesville and Miami, Florida in January.

New England

BOSTON, NOVEMBER 12TH/30TH— Among Celia Sandys’ stops was Suffolk University Law School, where she spoke about her grandfather’s travels at a free lecture open to the public. There followed a reception for the author and a dinner with New England Churchllians at the Union Club on Park Street.

A busy autumn for New Englanders continued on Sir Winston’s 129th birthday, November 30th, when they were invited to “The Republic of Laurania” to meet “Savrola,” Churchill eoponymous hero of his only novel, in the person of Patrick Powers of Magdalen College in Warner, New Hampshire, editor of the forthcoming new edition of Savrola to be published in association with The Churchill Centre. Traditional black tie was observed as usual, although business attire was optional.

Minterne and Portsmouth, UK

MINTERNE, DORSET, MARCH 29TH— Twentytwo members and guests of ICS(UK) visited this Dorset home, residence of the first Sir Winston Churchill and later of his third son, General Charles Churchill (whose eldest brother had to make do with Blenheim). The party was shown round by the owner, Lord Digby, brother of the late Pamela Harriman, whose childhood home it had also been; her son is today’s Winston Churchill. A visit was paid to the village church to see the grave of John Churchill (grandfather of the 1st Duke of Marlborough). Thanks are due to Elizabeth Snell, who has an apartment on the Minterne estate, for making the arrangements.

PORTSMOUTH, MAY 16TH— USS Winston S. Churchill spent a few days here for essential maintenance on her way home from the Iraq war; her Commanding Officer, Cdr Holly Graf, and the Master Chief Holliday were taken to lunch at the nearby Emsworth Sailing Club by ICS(UK) Vice Chairman Paul Courtenay and Committee member John Crookshank. It was interesting to hear at first hand about the ship’s first operational deployment.

New CC Governors

DECEMBER 2ND— Churchill Centre President Bill Ives announced the appointment of two new Governors, Suzanne Sigman of Milton, Mass, and Chris Hebb of Vancouver, BC, in accord with recent by-law changes (see “@ The Centre,” page 5). The Board also reelected Ives and Charles Platt to three-year terms while expressing thanks to retiring Governor John Plumpton for his long service.

Suzanne Sigman rebuilt and revitalized CC New England activities with a host of successful events over the past several years and was instrumental in making the first attempts to coordinate the activities and communications of far-flung local groups of CC members. The former proprietor of a bookshop specializing in children’s books, she devotes herself to advancing Sir Winston’s message in the Boston area.

Chris Hebb, like his father before him, is a key leader of the Sir Winston S. Churchill Society of British Columbia, which in 1986 played conference host to the Churchill Conference and to our guest William Manchester. The Society has an education fund, supporting its mission of acquainting youth with the Churchill story.

Suzanne and Dan Sigman and Dorothy and Chris Hebb have regularly attended International Churchill Conferences, and we look forward enthusiatically to their participation on the Board of Governors.

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