June 3, 2015

Finest Hour 101, Winter 1998-99

Page 13

AS SEEN BY VARIOUS EYES

VIEW FROM THE TOP

After nine months of intense activity, six o’clock Friday November 5th was a click away and the 15th Churchill Conference would be up and running. As I waited for silence from the audience gathered for the opening session, it seemed that the Planning Committee’s hard work was either going to come to fruition or I would be holding the bag for considerable misdirected energy, expended by a lot of dedicated people. Any anxiety I did have at that moment was quickly dispelled as the conference gained full momentum with its theme of “The Special Relationship: The End of the Beginning,” played out in the student seminar, various presentations and the First Churchill Lecture delivered by Ambassador Raymond Seitz.

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The Planning Committee, including James Muller, John Plumpton, Ron Helgemo and Craig and Lorraine Horn, worked as a team with the added benefit of teleconferencing and email. This may be the first Churchill Conference when the planners met together in one room only twice during the course of a nine-month preparation. The eventual success of the conference was a remarkable testimony to the effectiveness of modern modes of communication: the logistics and organization involved in the planning could not have been achieved otherwise in the constrained time available. An added factor in our favor was the marvelous cooperation of the staff of the Williamsburg Foundation, especially its Archivist, Stephen E. Haller.

The planning of a Conference requires a high level of cooperation and coordination and a strong spirit of mutual support, in order to achieve a smooth operation where the registrants can really enjoy themselves without distractions. It was a great benefit to be able to have this Conference at the Williamsburg Lodge with its superb facilities. The weather also cooperated, affording the opportunity to enjoy the amenities of the historic capital of Colonial Virginia.

It is probably inappropriate for me to wax lengthily on the feeling of satisfaction we have, and of how the delegates enjoyed the sessions and themselves. So I will quote from a letter I recently received from Lady Soames:

“Now I am sitting down quietly and casting my mind back to the tremendously successful and enjoyable programme over which you presided at Williamsburg. May I, through you, thank The Churchill Center’s committee for your generous hospitality. I do think you and your colleagues did a marvelous job in the detailed preparations, and the series of seminars and presentations and functions were so well planned: I got the feeling that everyone was really enjoying themselves and there was such a nice atmosphere.

“I thought a great feature of the Conference was the presence of students from so many different colleges and universities. Their input was very stimulating and I’m sure they all profited from the seminar themselves a great deal. Another highlight was being able to celebrate Richard’s CBE, so well deserved personally and also a compliment and accolade to the whole Society. And finally Ray Seitz’s thoughtful and riveting analysis of the special relationship really sparked off the Churchill Lectures at a very high level. I hope you have all had some days off, as running the Conference and attending all the events must have been a marathon.”

Typically, Lady Soames has caught the “note and tick” of the Conference; and what more can a Planning Committee ask than that our Patron be enthused over its outcome. I think her comments are echoes of the thoughts, spoken and unspoken, of many who were there with us. Don’t miss the next one in Bath, England 22-25 July, 1999. Once again the torch has been passed to our colleagues of the International Churchill Society, United Kingdom.
John H. Mather, M.D.
Chairman, Planning Committee

THE WILLIAMSBURG JOURNEY

It is nearly 6 PM when the phone rings in my car. My wife, Lorraine, is calling me from Williamsburg, and I am on the Washington Beltway headed to Dulles Airport to pick up Winston Churchill’s daughter and granddaughter, coming in from London. Lorraine is anxious: “Where are you and how soon will you be to Dulles? Celia just called. They have been waiting since 3:30 and no one has yet arrived for them.”

I panic. The traffic is terrible; a stray loony is trying to jump off the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and the entire west-side Beltway is at a crawl. “What are they doing here already?” I reply. “You told me to pick them up at 6:30 PM and it’s not even 6.” (Maybe I’ll just go back home and pretend this is not happening.)

At 6:20 PM I arrive at Dulles to find Celia Sandys waiting outside the terminal and Lady Soames sitting quietly and patiently inside. I am near suicide. But not to worry. They are not only warm, but apologetic for the inconvenience they have created for me on a busy conference week. I thought they would be ready to throw me to the lions! Instead we quickly pack their bags into the trunk (boot), Lady Soames climbs into the back seat with the overflow luggage, and we are off.

Three hours later we arrive in Williamsburg. It is nearly 10 PM and the lighting is dim. Street lighting like this is carrying the 18th Century too far. I proceed to get lost trying to find a hotel which I have never visited on roadways built 250 years ago, with precious few signs to guide me.

Think about it. I have been late picking up the only surviving child of the Man of the Century, as well as his granddaughter. They have been traveling for nearly ten hours. I have packed them into an overloaded car for another three hours, through Washington rush hour traffic. I am now depositing them in a hotel that I only inadvertently stumbled upon. On top of that, I don’t know whether my guest should be addressed as Lady Soames, The Lady Soames, Mrs. Soames, Lady Mary or Honorable Lady. (I’m from Iowa; I only work in outer space.) And there is Celia, strong and determined, who sizes you up quickly and takes no quarter. Dressed in jeans and a jacket, she is already planning her next seven activities. What does one say: “Greetings, Mrs. Sandys, and how are all the little ones?” Well no—she is officially Mrs. Perkins. Or is she the Honorable Celia? I think about joining the nut on the bridge.

In fact, of course, we had a great time. They were both warm and understanding. Although tired from an exhausting trip, to say nothing of two-plus hours waiting for me at Dulles, they could not have been more agreeable. They quickly put me at ease, and despite my trouble finding the hotel, all was in readiness at Williamsburg. Lady Soames was exactly what we have all come to expect and to know. As “Thomas Jefferson” said at the Friday night banquet, we now see why she is called Lady Soames.” She attended every program, sat attentively through every speech and participated with aplomb in every event. Celia Sandys showed her Churchill fortitude and perseverance as repeatedly we imposed upon her last-minute changes in schedule and unexpected duties regarding presentations and acknowledgments. Strong stock, those Churchills.

On the return trip to Dulles, things went more smoothly. They wanted to see some of the Virginia countryside and I was happy to oblige. Leaving 1-95 at Falmouth, we headed toward Warrenton. I was reasonably sure that there was some road or another that would take us up to Dulles, and there was. We drove through the gentle rolling countryside of “Mosby’s Confederacy” as I related stories of this or that Civil War battle or skirmish. Next came Catlett and the Confederate raid that resulted in a Yankee Generals jacket being captured for display in Richmond. Then Manassas, where Stonewall Jackson got his name. If only I could just shut up and let them enjoy the quiet of the countryside….

We reached Dulles Airport spot on schedule: a most wonderful time with our two guests. Until we meet again…
D. Craig Horn
Transport-R-Us

SCHOLARLY PERSPECTIVES

Attending the 15th International Churchill Conference were eleven Williamsburg Fellows of The Churchill Center, who came together to discuss the third volume of Churchill’s History of the English-Speaking Peoples, The Age of Revolution, with three faculty members. The Fellows, chosen for their academic promise, were undergraduates at colleges and universities in the eastern United States, ranging from freshmen to seniors; one was an exchange student from the British Isles.

The Williamsburg Seminar, “Winston S. Churchill on the Modern Revolutions,” began with a presentation by this writer and continued the next day with a fast-paced, three-hour discussion of The Age of Revolution by the Fellows, with conference-goers looking on. John Ramsden, Jeffrey Wallin, and I, who moderated the sessions, had only to pose the questions about the book. The Fellows, who had read it with great care, tackled the three modern revolutions that Churchill describes in his history: the Glorious Revolution of 1688 in Britain, the American Revolution of 1776, and the French Revolution of 1789, as well as the revolutions in science and industry that helped to create the modern world. They also considered the distinctive features of Churchillian history, wondered about his omissions and idiosyncrasies, and debated the accuracy of his accounts of such leading figures as Marlborough, Madison, Hamilton, and Napoleon.

The Williamsburg Fellows were conspicuous during the Conference through the First Churchill Lecture, which they attended. Each received a certificate from Celia Sandys, and they selected one of their number, Brian Sayers, as the class marshall, who conveyed eloquent thanks to Lady Soames for what they had learned from the work of her father. Costs of the seminar were partly defrayed by contributions from members, who signed on to be student sponsors.
James W. Muller
Academic Chairman

STORES-EYE VIEW

With forty-seven boxes filled with Churchill Stores inventory and strategically placed throughout my daughter Lisa’s motor home (the posters were in the shower stall), we set out from Manchester, New Hampshire on November 3rd at 4 PM. Our goal was a Pennsylvania campground five hours away where we would spend the night before moving on to Williamsburg the next day.

From our family pool Lisa received the “organized” gene. She is the plan-aheader who wants to know, needs to know, and knows in advance the route, the elapsed time, where we will stay, and so on, ad infinitum. So my only work, packing twenty-seven boxes (the other twenty were pre-packed ICS mugs), was done for the time being. I was just along for the ride.

A beautiful ride it was. Sunset across the Mass Pike was spectacular and we arrived as planned at the campground on the Pennsylvania border at exactly 9 PM. A cold snap was upon us but the motor home was cozy. Since I was sharing my bunk with boxes of coffee mugs I felt buttressed on all sides.

Before the sun rose, we were up complaining about the cold, but ready to go; and eight hours later, precisely as Lisa had forecast, we pulled up to the Williamsburg Lodge. (A little too closely, I might add. Our first souvenir was an exchange of paint between the motor home’s top edge and the Lodge’s metal canopy.) We were greeted with friendly smiles, which waned somewhat as we explained that we had “about fifty” boxes to be taken to the Tidewater Room. In a very short time, however, they and we were ensconced in our respective quarters.

John Mather, Ron Helgemo, Craig and Lorraine Horn and others had done a great deal to ease our fear of “where-will-we-put-all-this-stuff”; the Tidewater Room was ample with a bank of tables for Stores items and plenty of room for the various activities that would occur there. Our hard-working organizers provided whatever we needed with good humor and grace.

The next day as we were unpacking and organizing our wares, we were delighted to have volunteers Michael Pintavalle and Caroline Hartzler come on board to lend efficiency to the setting-up process. We also met a wonderful duo from Canada, Raili and Dave Garth, who were invaluable throughout the weekend. During very chaotic times, when it seemed as though every one of the 250 attendees was making a purchase, Dave and Raili were there, always cheerful, friendly and helpful. Without them Lisa and I would have been swamped and some Conference-goers might still be waiting for their sales slips to be written and their merchandise to be bagged.

It was hectic, it was exhausting, it was great fun and now that the memories of fatigue have faded, we’re ready to go again. Thank you Lisa, Raili and Dave and all the other volunteers. Thank you, Conference organizers. And thank you, delegates and customers. Your overwhelming support meant that we didn’t have to sleep with the mugs on the trip back. And yes, we drove exactly eight hours to the same campground in Pennsylvania where we had stayed on the way down, then arrived home after exactly five hours from the campground to New Hampshire. That Lisa will do it
every time!
Gail Greenly
Churchill Stores

TRIBUTE TO A LADY

My colleagues and I have gathered here today to extend our gratitude to you, Lady Soames, but I feel being able to accomplish this is equally as daunting a task for me as that of your father’s during the Battle of Britain. For it is difficult to give gratitude to those who provide us with a sense of vision, a sense of purpose. It is difficult to give gratitude to those who altruistically give their time, efforts, and their commitment for the betterment of a younger generation. Moreover, it is difficult merely to give gratitude to a lady who has inspired all of us to face the world with a sense of optimism; to stay strong in time of doubt; to serve when people are most deprived.

Lady Soames, your father stood at the despatch box many times to remind the British people, and people in every nation, that we depend on a younger generation to build a greater world. During my days at Oxford, we would sing about building a Jerusalem among the “dark satanic mills.” Your father, Lady Soames, gave us this hope.

Today, you are not only a living reminder to us. Your devotion to this organization and to its younger generation have built a pillar which the Churchillian dream may be built upon. We are, indeed, indebted to you, and of course, words of gratitude cannot possibly capture the endless contributions you have made to our presence here today. So rather than attempt to say merely, “thank you,” allow me to say “God bless you,” for your time, your dedication, your support.
Brian Sayers
For the WilliamsburgFellows