16
September 1999
James Stevens Esq
Head of Music Department
The Churchill Society
104 Devonshire Road
Mill Hill
London
NW7 IDL
(Handwritten) Dear Mr
Stevens
Thank you for your letter of 24
August concerning your plans to mount a Millennium Concert in the
name of Sir Winston Churchill.
However, I much regret that
Trustees, over the entire period of the Trust's existence, have
steadfastly concentrated the Trust's resources solely on the purpose
for which the money was subscribed by the British public in
1965:* the
Travelling Fellowship scheme.
That position has been
reconfirmed recently by Trustees and I have made that clear to your
Chairman and others involved with the Churchill Society on a number
of occasions in the past.
I am so sorry that the Trust is
unable to offer any support in this matter.
Yours sincerely
SIR HENRY BEVERLEY
Director General
________________________________________
Editor's comment. * The original
trust deed can be inspected where you will observe clause 3 (ii)
specifically states as follows:-
. . . . . . .in or towards
the cost of the erection protection and maintenance of a memorial to
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill in a place to which the public
have access . . . etc etc. ie, the basis of the Constitution of The
Churchill Society London.
_______________________________
The Chairman of the society's
Steering Committee, Mrs Pamela Timms - at the request of the
Society's Steering Committee - replied to The Director General and
Councillors and Trustees of The Winston Churchill Memorial
Trust:-
The
Director General,
The Trustees and Councillors
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
15 Queen's Gate Terrace,
LONDON,
SW7 5PR
Ladies and Gentlemen
Mr James Stevens, composer and
Head of the Music Department of this Society has passed to the
Committee the reply sent by Sir Henry Beverley in response to his
request for a meeting.
The Trustees appear to be under
a misapprehension. The Society is not making - and has never made - a
request for financial support.
The purpose of the proposed
meeting would be to seek the Trust's moral support in a joint
approach to UK Industry and Commerce for sponsorship to produce a
serious and dignified artistic/cultural event to mark the
achievements of Sir Winston's and his comrades - in - arms.
The committee are disappointed
to receive a further refusal to meet representatives from this
society and are reluctant to accept this decision. They point out
that as the Trust is owned by the public they have a duty in this
matter and note that this decision does not appear to have been
discussed by the councillors of the Trust.
The committee have therefore
asked me to request a definite date and time for a delegation to
visit and meet, not only with the Trustees but also with the
Councillors of the WCMT. I should be obliged if you would suggest a
suitable date for such a meeting.
It is time to redress previous
misunderstandings and to mark the new century by co-operation and
mutual support. This we feel would reflect the true spirit of Sir
Winston, who demonstrated such understanding of his countrymen and
was possessed of such forward-looking vision.
Yours truly
Pamela Timms (Mrs)
__________________________________________
Sir Henry Beverley's reply
from:-
The Winston Churchill Memorial
Trust
15 Queens Gate Terrace
London
SW7 5PR.
6th October 1999
(Hand written) Dear Mrs
Timms,
Thank you for your letter dated
29 September. The points you have raised are under
consideration.
Yours sincerely
Henry Beverley
SIR HENRY BEVERLEY
Director General
19 November
1999
Mrs Pamela Timms
Chairman.
The Churchill Society
c/o 18 Grove Lane
Ipswich Suffolk
IP4 INR
Dear Mrs Timms
(handwritten)
Your letter of 29 September
1999 in which you seek support for a cultural event to mark the
achievements of Sir Winston Churchill, and for a meeting to consider
the same, has been considered by the Trustees. They confirm that the
resources of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust - financial, moral
and practical - will continue to be devoted solely to the Travelling
Fellowship scheme.
Thus, I regret to inform you
that, in their discretion, Trustees do not wish any involvement with
the activities of the Churchill Society. I should emphasise that
Trustees are under no obligation to support any proposal that they
receive from any organisation whether for financial assistance or
co-operation in a wider sense; nor are they, nor the Council, duty
bound to meet with your representatives.
You will appreciate that this
letter is consistent with the tenor of many communications that have
been exchanged with the Churchill Society in recent years. Trustees'
views are unambiguous: they see no useful purpose as being served by
prolonging the correspondence.
Yours sincerely
SIR HENRY BEVERLEY
Director General
________________
The Chairman's letter of the
27th September 1999 was addressed to the Trustees and Councillors of the Winston Churchill Memorial
Trust.
It appears from Sir Henry
Beverley's reply that the Councillors were not consulted.
The Chairman's statement that
the Society sought constructive co-operation from the Trust - not
financial support - has been blatantly ignored, and the Trust appears
to be arrogantly proprietorial in implying that they - and only they
- have the right to honour the memory of one of the greatest
Englishmen of this Millennium.
One has to question what the
Trustees fear from the offer of co-operation. This is not, after all,
a competitive issue. Sir Winston's place in history is
assured.
The aim of The Churchill
Society is to show Sir Winston's and humanity creativity as beacons
of inspiration for this and future generations in all walks of life.
This aim will never be
deflected.
Comments by
members (or the public) can be sent to
The
Secretary
They must have a
verifiable postal and telephonic address.
__________________________
|
Trustees:
|
Ages In 1999.
|
|
Lady Soames. DBE.
Chairman
|
77
|
|
Duke of Abercorn
KG.
|
65
|
|
Mr lan Beer CBE
JP.
|
68
|
|
Sir Timathy
Bevan.
|
72
|
|
Lord Carrington.
KG
|
80
|
|
Winston S
Churchill.
|
59
|
|
Mr Mark
Cornwall-Jones.
|
|
|
Mr J R Hendersan. CVO
OBE.
|
79
|
|
Maj. Gen H A
Lascelles. DSO.
|
87
|
|
Mr Anthony Montague
Browne. DFC
|
76
|
|
Sir John Riddell
CVO.
|
65
|
|
Jeremy Soames.
|
|
|
Sir Anthony
Tuke.
|
79
|
|
Caspar W Weinberger.
GBE.
|
82
|
|
Viscount Younger of
Leckie.KCVO
|
78
|
Not consulted were the members of
The Council:
Mr lan Beer. CBE JP.
(Chairman).
Professor Sir Eric A Ash. CBE FRS FEnS.
Sir Roger Bannister. CBE DM(Oxon) FRCP.
Mrs Anne Boyd. JP.
Lady Boyd.
Professor Brian Clarke.
The Earl ot Dalkeith.
Mr Nick Danziger.
Sir Terence English. KBE FRCS.
The Batoness Flather of Windsor and Maidenhead.
Sir Peter Harding. GCB DSc FRAeS
Mr William Jardan. CBE.
Mr PaulH McWilliams. OBE.
The Duke of Marlbarough. JP
The Baroness Masham of Ilton.
Professor Roger Moffe. DIC PhD CMel.
The Lord Norrie.
Professor Sir Ronald Oxburgh. KBE FRS. The Countess Peel.
Mrs Susan Pegler.
Mr Mark Robinson.
Mr Leopald de Rathschild. CBE.
Mr Edward Rowlands. MP. FCIB.
The Hon Jeremy Soames
_________________
The Times Newspaper
London
September 7th 1998
(abbreviated)
Mr Mark Thomas has accepted a position advising Chancellor Gorden
Brown about reforming the tax system to ensure tha rich people cannot
cheat.
Mr Thomas was invited after his television programme revealed that
Nicholas Soames (Churchill's grandson and Conservative MP and former
Minister) avoided paying inheritance tax on family heirlooms he had
been left, by listing them as available to public inspection when
they were not.
___________________________________________
Mary Soames, Nicholas Soames, Winston Churchill minor.
Comments by members (or
the public) can be sent to
The Secretary
They must have a
verifiable postal and telephonic address.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
A
Chronology.
1971. The BBC telephones the
composer the day after receiving the orchestral score
enthusiastically accepting for broadcasting the first movement of THE
CHURCHILL MUSIC, 'Cradledays'. It had been submitted under a
different name to test their reaction to the music. A scandalous BBC
rehearsal took place in Belfast under Havelock Nelson. The composer
challenges Gareth Walters (who selected the work) to explain why.
1973. Composer visits General Alan Lascelles at the Winston
Churchill Memorial Trust offices to inform him of the nature of the
work.
1974. (May) after nine years
work THE CHURCHILL MUSIC was completed and presented by the composer
to Lady Churchill - with the copyright as a gift to The Winston
Churchill Memorial Trust - to commemorate Churchill's Centenary at a
concert performance of Remembrance in St Paul's Cathedral that year.
An identical leather and gilt bound copy of the work was presented to
Churchill College Cambridge - the latter was never acknowledged.
1974. May. The Churchill family
promote
"The
Collected Works"
1974.
Churchill's
Centenary. Saturday 30th November passes without any national commemoration and nothing
on any news bulletin other than a three second ITV TV shot of Lady
Churchill forlornly looking at her husband's plaque under the Dome of
St Paul's Cathedral. The BBC made no reference to the date.
1976. Febraury. General Alan
Lascelles, Director General of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
writes to the composer asking him to take the score away "as it is taking up space and as they have had
floods and he cannot guarantee its safety". The composer ignores the letter.
1977.
(12th December). Lady Churchill dies.
Every member of her family and all her relatives knew of the
existence of THE CHURCHILL MUSIC but she died without hearing a note
of it.
1983. Conservative Party
sleaze adds to the continuing collapse of moral standards in the UK
and leads to the uproar caused by
the the story of
the Churchill family threatening to sell Sir
Winston and Lady Churchill's gift to Churchill College of
The Chartwell Papers.
1984. The composer upon learning of the
forthcoming West End Musical production entitled "WINNIE' sends a
copy of THE CHURCHILL MUSIC to the actor Robert Hardy and pleads with
him not to get involved. He receives no reply. (The score was
returned two years later with no covering letter).
1988.
In 1988 The Churchill and
Marlborough families with their relatives and friends promote a
tawdry West End Musical with 'Winnie' singing in his bath! After
three performances it was taken off. It was reputed to have lost 3
million pounds and was described by a Buckingham Palace courtier as
"just done for money, money, money . . . . vulgar vulgar
vulgar"!
1989. The famous Enoch Powell Burford Bridge
Speech. which led to the formation of THE CHURCHILL SOCIETY
London.
1990. May 8th. The formation of THE CHURCHILL
SOCIETY London.
1993. Composer takes
back the orchestral scores from both The Winston Churchill Memorial
Trust and Churchill College Cambridge and gives Lady Churchill's
presentation leather and gilt bound edition (complete with the
copyright) to it. He sends the Churchill College edition to Prague
where it is immediately recognised and a first performance
arranged.
1995. VE Day May 8th. First
performance of THE CHURCHILL
MUSIC is given in Prague Cathedral by the
Czech National Symphony Orchestra with Radio Prague and Czeske TV.
News of the event is not reported in the UK.
1996. The Churchill Society's 120 page
illustrated educational web site entitled SCHOOLS AND YOUNG PEOPLE
"WHO WAS CHURCHILL?" completed and launched on Churchill's birthday
November 30th. (it has over 1200 visitors per day during school
terms).
1996. October. A second European broadcast
performance of the work. The Churchill family, The BBC, Classic FM,
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, Churchill College Cambridge and
all national newspapers ignore the news of the performances. (By the
year 1999 there had been three European broadcasts of The Churchill
Music with excerpts performed in the USA and Canada. The BBC and
Classic FM received CDs of the work but both refused to reply to
letters about it. In the case of the BBC it was obvious that the work
had been - like so many others - blacklisted by the tiny clique in
control of music within Radio 3. Classic FM refuses to reply to any
letters. (The situation remains the same to this day - March
2000).
1996. Rutherlyn gives The Churchill Society's
Christmas Lecture
The
Battle for REAL music.
1997. Winston S Churchill
Jnr.
1997. Professor Charmley writes: Is there no end to the making of
money by the family out of Sir Winston?
1997. The Times Newspaper. Cashing in on
Churchill.
1997. Letter to the Press
from Lord
Rothschild.
1997. Demand made for the The Reform
of The Winston
Churchill Memorial Trust.
1998. A REBUKE.
1998. The
Churchill family to pay back The Lottery Money.
1999. An investigation into the purchase by
the National Lottery of
The
Chartwell Papers
1999. Churchill's Private Letters.
1999. Notice for American readers.
2000. Sunday Times 13th February 2000.
Churchill family charge
academics.
Excellent UK Reviews of THE CHURCHILL MUSIC.
How
safe are the contents of Chartwell? (they
are on loan from the family).
The Churchill Music CDs go on
sale at Chartwell - all the proceeds go towards the work
of The Churchill Society.
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__________________
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