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The Papers of Patrick Kinna

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0014/KNNA

Scope and Contents

Includes papers and photographs of the various visits and conferences which Kinna attended with Churchill, newspapers and magazines from the war and afterwards, mainly relating to Churchill, and recordings made by Ernest Bevin.

Dates

  • Creation: 1918 - 2007

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for consultation by researchers using Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers wishing to publish excerpts from the papers must obtain prior permission from the copyright holders and should seek advice from Archives Centre staff.

Biographical / Historical

Patrick Kinna (or Peter, as he was known while working for Winston Churchill) was born on 5 Sept 1913. Before the war he worked as a shorthand teacher, then in September 1939 he went to Paris as a member of the War Cabinet secretariat. Kinna worked for a short time as clerk to the Duke of Windsor [earlier King Edward VIII], but on the occupation of France, when Duke became Governor of the Bahamas, Kinna remained with the War Cabinet, returning to England in 1940 on the fall of France.

Kinna was then sent to Washington [United States] with the Joint Staff mission for six months. On his return he took the place of Kathleen Hill as personal assistant to Winston Churchill, in order to accompany him to Newfoundland [later part of Canada] aboard HMS Prince of Wales for the Atlantic Charter meeting with President Roosevelt in August 1941. (It was thought that a man would be less likely to be offended by the sailors' language).

Kinna stayed with Churchill throughout the war as his shorthand typist, particularly on the overseas journeys to the various conferences, which were thought unsuitable for women, but after the loss of the 1945 election, he decided to move on, and became Private Secretary to Ernest Bevin, Foreign Secretary. He died on 14 March 2009.

Extent

3 archive box(es)

Language of Materials

English

Other Finding Aids

Copies of this finding aid are available for consultation at Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The papers were deposited at Churchill Archives Centre by Martin Kinna in 2013-15.

Related Materials

See also Kinna's oral history interview, GBR 0014/CHOH 1 PKNN, and a dvd of an interview with him, GBR 0014/WCHL 6/79.

General

This catalogue was prepared by Katharine Thomson of Churchill Archives Centre in October 2014. Biographical information was obtained from Kinna's oral history interview (see Further Information).

Originator(s)

Kinna, Patrick Francis, 1913-2009, Private Secretary to Winston Churchill

Date
2014-10-24 09:52:42.460000+00:00
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

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