I have arrived in Grahamstown, South Africa on a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship to investigate Shakespeare and Community Theatre. Over the next two months I will work with the Ubom! Eastern Cape Drama Company, under the mentorship of Artistic Director, Janet Buckland. I will be assisting in the direction of two separate productions of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'; one with the Ubom! Company which will tour to the North-West and Eastern Cape Schools' Festivals; the other with a Grahamstown community theatre group, which will tour to local schools.
On the flight over, I tackled the cryptic crossword in the Qantas magazine, and the first clue I was successful in answering was: Winston is sick behind the cathedral (9 letters)
I took this as a sign.
So I thought I'd begin my blog with a little info on the great man and the inspiring story of how the Trust came into being:
ABOUT SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill has been described by historians as “the greatest statesman of the 20th century”. Early in his military career he was a war correspondent and saw action in Cuba, Egypt, India and Sudan. At the age of 25 he entered the British House of Commons and began his political career which would span nearly sixty years across the reigns of six sovereigns. His roles included First Lord of the Admiralty, Minister of Munitions, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
From a seemingly hopeless position in World War II, Churchill’s leadership rallied the British people to prepare to resist invasion and sustain air attacks on their country during the Battle of Britain and then the Blitz. His inspiration led to the Commonwealth, Empire and eventually American Forces building the combined Allied strength to achieve final victory over Hitler some five and a half years later.
Those who lived through the years of World War II are unlikely to forget the vital role Churchill played in ridding the world of a tyranny the full magnitude of which was only revealed after the final victory was won.
Churchill was known as an avid reader and scholar, painter, journalist and author. In addition to his newspaper articles he wrote books, a novel, biographies, memoirs and histories. . Churchill is also known for his love of cigars, brandy, the famous V for victory salute and his outstanding oratory skill.
How the Trust came about:
After World War II many honours were conferred on Sir Winston Churchill from all over the world and many physical memorials were erected in the form of statues and buildings. In 1962 the Duke of Edinburgh asked Sir Winston what type of memorial he would like so that the world could remember him. The concept of an unusual type of memorial, to be set up after his death, pleased him very much and Sir Winston suggested something like the Rhodes Scholarships, but available to all people and on a much wider basis.
This led to the concept of travelling Fellowships, bearing his name, to give opportunity to enable ordinary people from the participating countries to travel overseas to meet people and to learn. The concept was developed jointly by the English-Speaking Unions of the Commonwealth and of the United States. Australia was among the countries that laid plans for a nationwide appeal on the death of Sir Winston Churchill to set up a National Churchill Trust.
Although Churchill had thoroughly approved the project when it was first cleared with him by the English-Speaking Union in the 1950’s, in order not to upset Sir Winston in his declining years about planning for actions after his death, it was kept secret at Lady Churchill’s request, until Churchill died. The planning for the appeal to raise funds for the establishment of a Churchill Trust in Australia nevertheless continued under the code name Operation “G” (for Gratitude) under the leadership of the then Counsellor (later Sir) William Kilpatrick. It was so thorough that immediately on Churchill’s death on the 24th of January 1965, a nationwide appeal for funds was launched by Sir Robert Menzies with Counsellor Kilpatrick as the Chairman of the Appeal Committee. There was a generous response by the Commonwealth and State Governments and by Australian companies and individuals. The Returned Services League brilliantly planned and executed a nationwide doorknock on ‘Churchill Memorial Sunday’ Sunday the 28th of February, 1965 – only four weeks after Churchill’s funeral.
The very willing national response of Australia’s Returned Servicemen in conducting what was the greatest one-day doorknock in Australian history showed the admiration and respect that Australian fighting men and women of World War II held for Churchill.
The very generous response of the Australian people to this appeal was undoubtedly due to their admiration for and gratitude to the great world figure in whose memory the Trust was being established. The one-day doorknock raised 911,000 Pounds ($1,822,000). By the time the contributions and pledges from the Commonwealth and State Governments, Australian companies, institutions and individuals had been collected, the Appeal target had more than doubled. 2,206,000 Pounds ($4,412,000) was raised.
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established to administer not only the total funds raised by the 1965 Appeal, but also the Churchill Fellowship award scheme.
The aim of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust is to honour and perpetuate the memory of Sir Winston Churchill. Another key goal of the Trust has always been to help Australians gain experience, information and skills in their chosen area of expertise and to translate that into real gains for Australia.
You can learn more about the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust at:
http://www.churchilltrust.com.au/
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