September 6, 2015

Finest Hour 168, Spring 2015

Page 26

By Grant Agamalian

“The German war is therefore at an end. After years of intense preparation ,Germany hurled herself on Poland at the beginning of September 1939; and, in pursuance of our guarantee to Poland and in agreement with the French Republic, Great Britain, the British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations, declared war upon this foul aggression. After gallant France had been struck down we…maintained the struggle single-handed for a whole year until we were joined by the military might of Soviet Russia, and later by the overwhelming power and resources of the United States of America.”
— V-E Day Broadcast

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Our cover artist for this issue is twelve-year-old Grant Agamalian. Grant lives in Orange County, California, but his interest in Churchill began when his Uncle Randy (New York Churchillian Randy Baker) began telling him stories about Churchill and the Second World War. In 2012 Randy took his nephew to the Morgan Library in New York City to see the exhibition “Churchill: The Power of Words,” featuring numerous photographs and documents on loan from the Churchill Archives Centre.

Grant’s interest in history continued to develop with a visit to the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam and the Churchill War Rooms in London. An exciting highlight of his trip to London was meeting Randolph Churchill. A chance meeting with Italian stamp collectors in Milan led to another passion: collecting Churchill stamps. The Churchill Centre itself began in 1968 with a small group of enthusiasts who shared the same interest.

Grant provided Finest Hour the following description of his cover art:

“I chose to do a poster that represents the Second World War and how Winston Churchill saved the world. For three reasons the design represents peace. First, it has Winston Churchill in it, and he was a very peaceful man. Second, it includes the flags of all the Allied countries during the war that worked to preserve peace in the world. Finally, it also has the United Nations flag because the UN is a world peace organization started by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt.

“I chose to create my design using Photoshop because it was the only medium I could use that would enable me to include all of the different elements that are seen. Also, it was very fun because I got to work with my mom and her business partner, who do wallpaper designs with photography and Photoshop.”

In addition to being a member of The Churchill Centre in his own right, Grant is active in the Boy Scouts. His other interests include football, band, sailing, and—obviously—art and design.