by Mary Soames
CHAPTER 9: At Chequers
1. Churchill, Their Finest Hour, p. 332.
2. See Norma Major, Chequers: The Prime Minister’s Country House and Its History (London: HarperCollins, 1996).
3. Colville, The Fringes of Power, p. 247.
4. Ibid., diary entry for Saturday, 12 October 1940, pp. 262–63.
5. Letter to the author from Professor R. D. Keynes, CBE, FRS, and attached Royal Society Biographical Memoir of Charles Frederick Goodeve by F. D. Richardson FRS, quoting Gerald Pawle, The Secret War, 1939–45 (London: Harrap, 1956).
CHAPTER 10 Decisions … Decisions … Decisions
1. Recounted in John G. Winant, A Letter from Grosvenor Square: An Account of a Stewardship (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1947). The quotation is from the Book of Ruth.
2. The President’s personal instruction to Harriman: see Gilbert, Finest Hour, p. 1020.
3. Gilbert, Finest Hour, p. 1059; Mary Soames in conversation with the author, October 1982.
4. Colville, The Fringes of Power, p. 387.
5. MC to W. Averell Harriman, 13 May 1941, Library of Congress; Rudy Abramson, Spanning the Century: The Life of W. Averell Harriman, 1891–1986 (New York: William Morrow, 1992).
CHAPTER 12: Battery Life
1. WSC, “Address to the Central Council of the Conservative Party,” published in The Times (London), 27 March 1942.
2. Hugh Trevor-Roper, ed., Hitler’s Secret Conversations (New York: Farrar, Straus & Young, 1953), 27 June 1942, p. 141. I am much obliged to Andrew Roberts for this nugget.
CHAPTER 14: “Subaltern George”
1. Gilbert, Finest Hour, p. 484, n. 6.
2. I am indebted for a reminder of this story to Gerald Pawle, The War and Colonel Warden (New York: Knopf, 1963), pp. 249–50.
3. Sarah Churchill, A Thread in the Tapestry (London: André Deutsch, 1967).
CHAPTER 15: Testing Times
1. From Irwin Shaw, The Young Lions (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948). I am grateful to Ken Perkins for the reference.
2. Harold Macmillan’s description, quoted in Gilbert, Finest Hour, p. 622.
CHAPTER 16: Doodlebugs
1. Copy of telegram courtesy of Churchill College Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge.
2. Ibid.
Bibliography
Abramson, Rudy. Spanning the Century: The Life of W. Averell Harriman, 1891–1986. New York: William Morrow, 1992.
Churchill, Sarah. A Thread in the Tapestry. London: André Deutsch, 1967.
———. Keep on Dancing: An Autobiography. Edited by Paul Medlicott. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1981.
Churchill, Winston S. The Second World War. Vol. 1, The Gathering Storm. London: Cassell, 1948.
———. The Second World War. Vol. 2, Their Finest Hour. London: Cassell, 1949.
———. The Second World War. Vol. 6, Triumph and Tragedy. London: Cassell, 1954.
Colville, John. The Fringes of Power: Downing Street Diaries, 1939–55. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1985.
Culme-Seymour, Angela. Bolter’s Grand-daughter. Oxford: Bird Island Press, 2001.
Gilbert, Martin, Winston S. Churchill. Companion Volume V, Part 3, The Coming of War. London: Heinemann, 1982.
———. Finest Hour: Winston S. Churchill, 1939–1941. London: Heinemann, 1983.
Grant Duff, Shiela. The Parting of the Ways. London: Peter Owen, 1982.
Ingram, Kevin. Rebel: The Short Life of Esmond Romilly. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1985.
Lovell, Mary S. The Mitford Girls: The Biography of an Extraordinary Family. London: Little, Brown, 2001.
Major, Norma. Chequers: The Prime Minister’s Country House and Its History. London: HarperCollins, 1996.
Oxford Companion to the Second World War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Pawle, Gerald. The Secret War, 1939–45. London: Harrap, 1956.
———. The War and Colonel Warden. New York: Knopf, 1963.
Trevor-Roper, Hugh, ed. Hitler’s Secret Conversations. New York: Farrar, Straus & Young, 1953.
Winant, John G. A Letter from Grosvenor Square: An Account of a Stewardship. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1947.
Photograph Credits
MC = Mary Churchill
CSC = Clementine Churchill
WSC = Winston Churchill
FIRST SECTION
Photo Credit 1.1: MC as a baby: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Randolph Churchill, RDCH [9/2/4B], reproduced with permission of Curtis Brown, London, on behalf of the Estate of Randolph S. Churchill, copyright © Randolph S. Churchill; MC with CSC: Mary Soames collection.
Photo Credit 1.2–Photo Credit 1.3: MC and WSC: Churchill Archives Centre, The Broadwater Collection, BRDW [1/1/95], reproduced with permission of Curtis Brown Ltd, London, on behalf of the Broadwater Collection; MC with her parents: Mary Soames collection; MC with a bucket: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/2/42]; MC on a pony: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/5/5]; MC with her doll: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/2/43]; MC with Sarah Churchill: Churchill Archives Centre, The Broadwater Collection, BRDW [1/1/95], reproduced with permission of Curtis Brown Ltd, London, on behalf of the Broadwater Collection; Chartwell in 1922: Topfoto/TopFoto.co.uk; portrait of MC by Neville Lewis: private collection; MC with Diana Churchill: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/2/38].
Photo Credit 1.4–Photo Credit 1.5: MC and WSC bricklaying, 1928: Getty Images; Tea at Chartwell by WSC, 1927: reproduced with permission of Anthea Morton-Saner on behalf of Churchill Heritage Ltd/Copyright © Churchill Heritage Ltd; Mary’s First Speech by WSC, 1929: reproduced with permission of Anthea Morton-Saner on behalf of Churchill Heritage Ltd/Copyright © Churchill Heritage Ltd/photo Topfoto/TopFoto.co.uk; MC head and shoulders and MC in fur coat: both Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Randolph Churchill, RDCH [9/2/4B], reproduced with permission of Curtis Brown, London, on behalf of the Estate of Randolph S. Churchill, copyright © Randolph S. Churchill; Churchill family, Westerham, June 1928: Mirrorpix; MC in the snow: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Randolph Churchill, RDCH [9/2/4B], reproduced with permission of Curtis Brown, London, on behalf of the Estate of Randolph S. Churchill, copyright © Randolph S. Churchill.
Photo Credit 1.6–Photo Credit 1.7: MC at the Scamperdale Pony Show: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/2/79]; MC skating: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/2/91]; MC with CSC skiing: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/2/97]; MC with Fiona Forbes: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/2/83]; CSC’s bedroom at Chartwell: © AP/Topfoto; MC and WSC at the circus: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/1/27]; MC and WSC on horseback: Mary Soames collection.
Photo Credit 1.8: MC by Cecil Beaton: all Cecil Beaton/Vogue © The Condé Nast Publications Ltd, photo Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/4/60–62 and 87].
Photo Credit 1.9: MC by Antony Beauchamp: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/2/74].
Photo Credit 1.10–Photo Credit 1.11: CSC in Admiralty House, c. 1939: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/2/94]; bedroom in the Annexe: Mary Soames collection; WSC, CSC, and MC arriving at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, Jan. 1940: Daily Mail/Rex Features; CSC launches the Indomitable, March 1940: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/3/9]; MC in her coming-out dress, 29 Feb. 1940: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/4/89]; WSC and CSC at Queen Charlotte’s Ball for debutantes, 29 Feb. 1940: Press Association; Pamela Digby and Randolph Churchill at their wedding; MC and Randolph at his wedding, 4 O
ct. 1939: both Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/2/68]; dining-room downstairs at No. 10: Mary Soames collection.
Photo Credit 1.12–Photo Credit 1.13: MC outside Ditchley Park: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/4/20]; MC at Westerham War Weapons Week, 1 Feb. 1941: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/4/10]; MC at Queen Charlotte’s Ball, 22 March 1941: Press Association; Gil Winant, unknown man, MC, and Averell Harriman, Cardiff, 12 April 1941: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/4/22]; MC, CSC, and Nana Whyte, 1941: Mary Soames collection; MC at Stoke Mandeville, June 1941: Mary Soames collection; Chequers: Alamy; “Prison Room,” Chequers: ITV/Rex Features.
Photo Credit 1.14–Photo Credit 1.15: MC at training camp, 28 Sept. 1941: Popperfoto/Getty Images; MC and Judy Montagu carrying a dustbin: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/4/66]; MC and Judy Montagu at training camp, 1941: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/4/65]; MC and WSC on board the Duke of York, Dec. 1941: Mary Soames collection; CSC, MC, and Dudley Pound, 1941: © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis; MC and friends cleaning shoes: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/4/71]; MC and friends hanging up washing: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/4/67].
Photo Credit 1.16: “Some of Pip Section”: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/5/42].
SECOND SECTION
Photo Credit 1.17: MC at an infantry inspection by WSC, 28 Dec. 1942; AP/Press Association Images.
Photo Credit 1.18–Photo Credit 1.19: CSC, WSC, Sarah, and Mary driving to Mansion House, 30 June 1943: Daily Mail/Rex Features; Friday Night, Control Room, by Bryan de Grineau, 22 Oct. 1943, printed in Illustrated London News, 30 Oct. 1943: Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans; the Queen visits MC’s battery, Hyde Park, 5 July 1943: Mary Soames collection; same occasion: Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Clementine Spencer-Churchill, CSCT [5/5/90]; MC and WSC, Downing Street, 3 July 1942: Getty Images; WSC and MC outside Mansion House, 30 June 1943: Getty Images.
Photo Credit 1.20–Photo Credit 1.21: CSC and MC entering City Hall, Quebec, 23 Aug. 1943: Skadding/AP/Press Association Images; WSC and MC, Niagara, Aug. 1943, CSC, WSC, and MC on the Renown returning from Quebec, Sept. 1943, MC celebrating her birthday on Renown: all Mary Soames collection; WSC and MC on train observation platform, Niagara, Aug. 1943: British Official Photograph (Crown copyright)/Mirrorpix; CSC and MC, Quebec, 1943: Mary Soames collection; Brendan Bracken, General Ismay, and MC on the train: Imperial War Museum/H32957.
Photo Credit 1.22–Photo Credit 1.23: CSC, MC, and WSC during an inspection tour of the defences in the south of England, 5 July 1944: AP/Press Association Images; CSC, MC, and others at the celebrations of the liberation of Paris, Nov. 1944: Mary Soames collection; MC, Anthony Eden, CSC, Beatrice Eden, and WSC leaving the Quai d’Orsay, Nov. 1944: Imperial War Museum/BU 1315; CSC, MC, and WSC at Euston Station, 26 Sept. 1944: Associated Newspapers/Rex Features.
Photo Credit 1.24: MC embarking for Belgium, 25 Jan. 1945: Imperial War Museum/H41190.
Photo Credit 1.25: Anthony Eden, MC, and WSC on the steps of the Reichstag, Berlin, 16 July 1945: Imperial War Museum/BU 8593.
Photo Credit 1.26–Photo Credit 1.27: “The Premier and His Family Enjoy Last Moments of Their Holiday at Hendaye,” Tatler, 25 July 1945: Mary Evans; WSC, Gen. Montgomery, and MC outside WSC’s temporary residence, Potsdam, 15 July 1945: Imperial War Museum/BU 8892; British victory parade, Berlin, 21 July 1945: Imperial War Museum/BU 9088; MC and Anthony Eden, Berlin, 22 July 1945: AP/Press Association Images; Harry Truman says goodbye to MC, Potsdam, 16 July 1945: United States Army Corps, courtesy of Harry S. Truman Library.
Photo Credit 1.28–Photo Credit 1.29: Gabrielle L’Honoré; MC and CSC, Lac Leman, autumn 1946; WSC and MC in Berne, Sept. 1946: all Mary Soames collection; MC, CSC, and Sarah outside Buckingham Palace, 9 July 1946: PA/PA Archive/Press Association Images; MC’s scrapbook: Mary Soames collection.
Photo Credit 1.30–Photo Credit 1.31: Title page, The Tatler, 20 Nov. 1946: Mary Evans; wedding photos: all Mary Soames collection.
Photo Credit 1.32: Honeymoon photos: all Mary Soames collection.
ALSO BY MARY SOAMES
Clementine Churchill
A Churchill Family Album
The Profligate Duke
Winston Churchill: His Life as a Painter
Speaking for Themselves: The Personal Letters of
Winston and Clementine Churchill
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MARY SOAMES is the youngest and only surviving child of Winston and Clementine Churchill. She was born in 1922 and brought up at Chartwell in Kent. In 1941, aged eighteen, she joined the ATS and served in mixed anti-aircraft batteries in England and Europe. She accompanied her father as his ADC on several of his wartime overseas journeys. In 1945 she was awarded the MBE (military). In 1947 she married Captain Christopher Soames, Coldstream Guards, later Lord Soames, PC, GCMG, CH. She has also written her mother’s biography, Clementine Churchill, and edited Speaking for Themselves, a collection of the personal letters between her parents.
