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Lady Churchill's letters to Sir Winston, 1942-08, 1943

 File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/CSCT 1/27

Scope and Contents

Subjects include: Churchill's departure [for Casablanca, Morocco, January 1943] and the bad behaviour of Smoky the cat; Churchill's extra journey to Turkey; stories of atrocities carried out by German soldiers in the Soviet Union against both Soviet forces and Italians; news of the Allied forces entering Tunis and Bizerta [Tunisia]; an unexpected visit from Sarah Oliver [earlier Sarah Churchill, later Sarah Beauchamp and Sarah, Lady Audley]; the success of the campaign in North Africa and Clementine's concern about press coverage in the Times giving more importance to the Pacific theatre than the liberation of Europe; her doubts about Field Marshal Sir Archibald Wavell; the death of 16 members of the ATS [Auxiliary Transport Service] in a bombing raid of Great Yarmouth [Norfolk]; the wedding of Lady Sarah Churchill; a congratulatory telegram to Churchill from King George VI on the end of the campaign in Tunisia; hopes for a reconciliation between Randolph Churchill and Pamela Churchill [earlier Pamela Digby, later Pamela Hayward and Pamela Harriman]; visits to Chartwell [Kent], May 1943; Churchill's address to the United States Congress, May 1943 and his talks with Franklin Roosevelt; the Thanksgiving Service for Tunisia at St Paul's [London]; Diana Sandys [earlier Diana Churchill and Diana Bailey] giving birth to [Celia Sandys]; Mary Churchill [later Mary Soames]'s serving with her ATS battery; Clementine opening the Wings for Victory week in Sheffield [Yorkshire] with Wing Commander Guy Gibson; the French fleet in Alexandria [Egypt] joining the Allies and General Alphonse Georges's arrival in North Africa; Churchill's flight to Cairo [Egypt] and Moscow, August 1942; the decision by Jean Knox [later Lady Swaythling] to step down [as Chief Controller and Director of the ATS]; Churchill's speech [on the coal situation], October 1943; his departure for the Teheran Conference, November 1943; the death of the duck-billed platypus which had been sent to Churchill from Australia; the improvement in health of 1st Lord Moyne [Deputy Minister of State, Cairo, earlier Walter Guinness] because of a new glandular treatment and his low opinion of the Foreign Office's department for the Middle East; trouble with Churchill's throat and stomach; Clementine's work for the Red Cross Aid to Russia Fund; friction with General Charles de Gaulle and the Free French in the Lebanon, Clementine's view that Major-General Sir Edward Spears [First Minister to Republics of Syria and the Lebanon] was being too uncompromising and her optimism about the appointment of [Alfred] Duff Cooper [later 1st Lord Norwich, as the British Representative with the French Committee of National Liberation]; Herbert Morrison [Home Secretary] and his troubles with the arrest of Sir Oswald Mosley [founder of the British Union of Fascists], under Defence Regulation 18B [the Emergency Internment of Aliens and Political Dissenters]; an influenza epidemic in Mary Churchill's ATS battery; the arm injury which Clementine had suffered in Washington, August 1943; the health of Pamela Churchill [earlier Pamela Digby, later Pamela Hayward and Pamela Harriman] after a tonsil operation; the end of the Teheran Conference; 1st Lord Beaverbrook [earlier Max Aitken]'s criticism of a speech by Field Marshal Jan Smuts [Prime Minister of South Africa and Minister of External Affairs and Defence], December 1943; Clementine's fund raising speech for the YWCA at the London Stock Exchange; the return of 'Jock' John Colville as Churchill's Assistant Private Secretary.

Also includes copies of letters between Clementine and Queen Elizabeth, on the King's message to Churchill on the victory in North Africa, and his and the Queen's gratitude for Churchill's courage and vision.

Dates

  • Creation: 1942-08
  • Creation: 1943

Conditions Governing Access

From the Fonds:

With the exception of the staff wages books in CSCT 9/1, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge.

Extent

1 file(s)

Language of Materials

English

Former / Other Reference

C/WSC/43

Finding aid date

2004-03-24 14:46:01.497000+00:00

Repository Details

Part of the Churchill Archives Centre Repository

Contact:
Churchill Archives Centre
Churchill College
Cambridge Cambridgeshire CB3 0DS United Kingdom
+44 (0)1223 336087