The Sir Winston Churchill Leadership Initiative and Churchill statue project |
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Why the Sir Winston Churchill Leadership Initiative and statue project?
Sir Winston Churchill was one of the greatest political leaders of the twentieth century—early on as a proponent of social reform, and later, as an initial voice in the wilderness when warning about Germany’s re-militarization. In office as Prime Minister, as of May 1940, Churchill would lead his country and allies including Canada in the fight against Nazi tyranny.
Churchill as a social reformer
As Dr. Ian Holloway, the Dean of Law School at the University of Calgary noted in his journal article “I Stand for Liberty: Winston Churchill as Social Reformer,” how early in his political career, Churchill, as Home Secretary, took up the “cause of the left-out millions” as Churchill himself described them.
Churchill advocated for a “three-pronged plan for social reform”, as Holloway characterizes it, including social insurance (unemployment insurance and pensions), a network of employment offices and a minimum wage (spurred on by “exceedingly low wages” paid to those in the “sweated trades” such as garment workers). Churchill’s work as a social reformer also included a bill to limit the hours of shopworkers, (“Shops Bill”) passed at Churchill’s initiation in his capacity of Home Secretary in 1910.
Churchill as an early critic of the Nazis and as a war-time leader
This aspect of Churchill’s career is much more well-known. But even here, recall that Churchill was a rare voice in the 1930s when he argued against appeasement of Nazi Germany.
Three examples demonstrate the mood of many among the British public in the 1930s:
In 1932, Churchill warned that Germany should “not be allowed to rearm” and told his fellow parliamentarians not to “delude yourselves” that the German request was about mere equality with other nations. It was instead, said Churchill, the first step to “shatter to the foundations” the other countries of Europe. In 1933, Churchill called the 1933 Oxford resolution “abject, squalid, shameless” and “nauseating”. In October 1938, when Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned from Munich believing he had obtained a guarantee of peace from Hitler, Churchill’s response was “I will begin by saying what everybody would like to ignore or forget but which must be stated, namely, that we have sustained a total and unmitigated defeat.”
As Prime Minister of Great Britain for most of the Second World War (from May 1940 until July 1945), Churchill would lead Great Britain against difficult odds and events. That included the eight-month “Blitz”—the Nazi bombing campaign against British cities; a constant reduction in food and other supplies for Britons; and path to victory that was by no means guaranteed and over the worries of some in the British government including Lord Halifax who sought a peace treaty with Germany early in the war.
Churchill’s views, as we know, won out and he led the Commonwealth coalition against Nazi Germany until the declaration of war by Germany on the United States in December 1941 brought American power into the conflict.
Perhaps Churchill’s most famous quote of the war is as follows, from June 4, 1940 just after the evacuation of British Forces at Dunkirk: "We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."
Churchill’s life and death
Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was born on November 30, 1874, served as prime minister between 1940 and 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. He passed away on January 24, 1965. He was the only British civilian in the twentieth century to be given a state funeral by the British government, an honour normally reserved for British Royalty. On the day of his funeral, January 30th, 1965, over one million people began to line the cortege route. As Christopher Klein has written,
Such was the country’s admiration for Churchill that Queen Elizabeth II broke with monarchical tradition to attend a funeral for someone outside of the royal family. Even more unusual, the Queen gave precedence to one of her subjects and arrived at the cathedral before the former prime minister’s casket. In sum, Sir Winston Churchill was a courageous, consequential world leader.
The Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary wishes to honour the memory of Churchill for all the above reasons, but also to introduce Churchill to a newer generation and to commemorate his 1929 visit to Alberta.
Churchill’s 1929 visit to Alberta
There are multiple reasons for Calgary and southern Alberta to commemorate Sir Winston Churchill, among them his 1929 visit to Alberta. (Edmonton long ago honoured the late British prime minister with a downtown square in Churchill’s name, and a statue.)
According to Bradley Tolpannen in his book, Churchill in North America, 1929, which recounts Churchill’s 1929 three-month long visit to North America, Churchill was fascinated by southern Alberta including the Turner Valley oil fields, the Prince of Wales ranch, and the Canadian Rockies, where Churchill created several paintings. At the Turner Valley oil fields, he would write to his wife, Clementine, that were “amazing” and speculated he might buy 1,000 shares in Alberta-based oil firms.
When Churchill arrived in Calgary on a Saturday morning, August 24, 1929, he walked across the CPR train station platform and gazed westward at the Rockies and remarked that “What a glorious day! I can just see the peaks of the Rockies from here!” While in Calgary, Churchill gave a speech at the Palliser Hotel, then Calgary’s tallest building at 12 stories, and was given an off-white Stetson hat, a hat that he would keep for his entire life and often wear it while painting.
At Lake Louise, Churchill described it as a “truly enchanting scene” and said that the comfort and beauty of Lake Louise had “never been surpassed” in any of his travels over four continents. He later described the Rockies as the equal of anything in Switzerland. Churchill clearly enjoyed and cherished his 1929 visit to Alberta.
Specifics on the Churchill Statue Project: An update as of June 2020
The Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary seeks to raise $300,000 for the statue, base and ongoing maintenance and once that is complete, begin fundraising for a further $200,000 for the Speaker Series. We will also soon apply to the City of Calgary through their official process for the approval of public art. (We will not request city funding.) Our goal is to then work with the City of Calgary on placement, commission the statue, and install it in a prominent public area on or by August 24, 2021, the anniversary of Churchill's August 24, 1929 visit to Calgary.
To date, the Society has raised approximately $150,000 of the $300,000 for the statue, base and ongoing maintenance. We are confident that Calgarians and others committed to the legacy and leadership of Sir Winston Churchill will help get us across the fundraising "finish line" in the coming months.
Given the amount raised to date, the Society will, in early July 2020, choose among two shortlisted finalists and award the commission for creation of the Churchill statue in time for an August 2021 unveiling.
How to donate to the Churchill Statue Project
If you would like to help preserve and promote the legacy of Sir Winston Churchill, please contact Heather Coleman, Gerry Chipeur, James Maxim, Mark Milke Gordon Lang at the addresses below. Any one of us will be happy to discuss this legacy project and your own personal tribute to Sir Winston Churchill.
Sir Winston Churchill was one of the greatest political leaders of the twentieth century—early on as a proponent of social reform, and later, as an initial voice in the wilderness when warning about Germany’s re-militarization. In office as Prime Minister, as of May 1940, Churchill would lead his country and allies including Canada in the fight against Nazi tyranny.
Churchill as a social reformer
As Dr. Ian Holloway, the Dean of Law School at the University of Calgary noted in his journal article “I Stand for Liberty: Winston Churchill as Social Reformer,” how early in his political career, Churchill, as Home Secretary, took up the “cause of the left-out millions” as Churchill himself described them.
Churchill advocated for a “three-pronged plan for social reform”, as Holloway characterizes it, including social insurance (unemployment insurance and pensions), a network of employment offices and a minimum wage (spurred on by “exceedingly low wages” paid to those in the “sweated trades” such as garment workers). Churchill’s work as a social reformer also included a bill to limit the hours of shopworkers, (“Shops Bill”) passed at Churchill’s initiation in his capacity of Home Secretary in 1910.
Churchill as an early critic of the Nazis and as a war-time leader
This aspect of Churchill’s career is much more well-known. But even here, recall that Churchill was a rare voice in the 1930s when he argued against appeasement of Nazi Germany.
Three examples demonstrate the mood of many among the British public in the 1930s:
- In 1933, the Oxford Union, a debating Society, passed a resolution, stating that it would “in no circumstances fight for its King and Country.”
- In 1936, the British historian Arnold Toynbee met with Hitler and told the British Foreign Office that the German leader desired peace.
- In 1938, when the British soccer team played in Berlin, the team’s players gave the Nazi salute during the German national anthem—at the urging of the British Foreign Office then led by Lord Halifax.
In 1932, Churchill warned that Germany should “not be allowed to rearm” and told his fellow parliamentarians not to “delude yourselves” that the German request was about mere equality with other nations. It was instead, said Churchill, the first step to “shatter to the foundations” the other countries of Europe. In 1933, Churchill called the 1933 Oxford resolution “abject, squalid, shameless” and “nauseating”. In October 1938, when Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned from Munich believing he had obtained a guarantee of peace from Hitler, Churchill’s response was “I will begin by saying what everybody would like to ignore or forget but which must be stated, namely, that we have sustained a total and unmitigated defeat.”
As Prime Minister of Great Britain for most of the Second World War (from May 1940 until July 1945), Churchill would lead Great Britain against difficult odds and events. That included the eight-month “Blitz”—the Nazi bombing campaign against British cities; a constant reduction in food and other supplies for Britons; and path to victory that was by no means guaranteed and over the worries of some in the British government including Lord Halifax who sought a peace treaty with Germany early in the war.
Churchill’s views, as we know, won out and he led the Commonwealth coalition against Nazi Germany until the declaration of war by Germany on the United States in December 1941 brought American power into the conflict.
Perhaps Churchill’s most famous quote of the war is as follows, from June 4, 1940 just after the evacuation of British Forces at Dunkirk: "We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."
Churchill’s life and death
Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was born on November 30, 1874, served as prime minister between 1940 and 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. He passed away on January 24, 1965. He was the only British civilian in the twentieth century to be given a state funeral by the British government, an honour normally reserved for British Royalty. On the day of his funeral, January 30th, 1965, over one million people began to line the cortege route. As Christopher Klein has written,
Such was the country’s admiration for Churchill that Queen Elizabeth II broke with monarchical tradition to attend a funeral for someone outside of the royal family. Even more unusual, the Queen gave precedence to one of her subjects and arrived at the cathedral before the former prime minister’s casket. In sum, Sir Winston Churchill was a courageous, consequential world leader.
The Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary wishes to honour the memory of Churchill for all the above reasons, but also to introduce Churchill to a newer generation and to commemorate his 1929 visit to Alberta.
Churchill’s 1929 visit to Alberta
There are multiple reasons for Calgary and southern Alberta to commemorate Sir Winston Churchill, among them his 1929 visit to Alberta. (Edmonton long ago honoured the late British prime minister with a downtown square in Churchill’s name, and a statue.)
According to Bradley Tolpannen in his book, Churchill in North America, 1929, which recounts Churchill’s 1929 three-month long visit to North America, Churchill was fascinated by southern Alberta including the Turner Valley oil fields, the Prince of Wales ranch, and the Canadian Rockies, where Churchill created several paintings. At the Turner Valley oil fields, he would write to his wife, Clementine, that were “amazing” and speculated he might buy 1,000 shares in Alberta-based oil firms.
When Churchill arrived in Calgary on a Saturday morning, August 24, 1929, he walked across the CPR train station platform and gazed westward at the Rockies and remarked that “What a glorious day! I can just see the peaks of the Rockies from here!” While in Calgary, Churchill gave a speech at the Palliser Hotel, then Calgary’s tallest building at 12 stories, and was given an off-white Stetson hat, a hat that he would keep for his entire life and often wear it while painting.
At Lake Louise, Churchill described it as a “truly enchanting scene” and said that the comfort and beauty of Lake Louise had “never been surpassed” in any of his travels over four continents. He later described the Rockies as the equal of anything in Switzerland. Churchill clearly enjoyed and cherished his 1929 visit to Alberta.
Specifics on the Churchill Statue Project: An update as of June 2020
The Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary seeks to raise $300,000 for the statue, base and ongoing maintenance and once that is complete, begin fundraising for a further $200,000 for the Speaker Series. We will also soon apply to the City of Calgary through their official process for the approval of public art. (We will not request city funding.) Our goal is to then work with the City of Calgary on placement, commission the statue, and install it in a prominent public area on or by August 24, 2021, the anniversary of Churchill's August 24, 1929 visit to Calgary.
To date, the Society has raised approximately $150,000 of the $300,000 for the statue, base and ongoing maintenance. We are confident that Calgarians and others committed to the legacy and leadership of Sir Winston Churchill will help get us across the fundraising "finish line" in the coming months.
Given the amount raised to date, the Society will, in early July 2020, choose among two shortlisted finalists and award the commission for creation of the Churchill statue in time for an August 2021 unveiling.
How to donate to the Churchill Statue Project
If you would like to help preserve and promote the legacy of Sir Winston Churchill, please contact Heather Coleman, Gerry Chipeur, James Maxim, Mark Milke Gordon Lang at the addresses below. Any one of us will be happy to discuss this legacy project and your own personal tribute to Sir Winston Churchill.
- The chair of the Churchill Leadership Initiative, Ms. Heather Coleman Coleman@albertarealtor.ca
- Mr. Gerald Chipeur, Q.C., responsible for Society fundraising (general and assistance with the statue project): Email: gchipeur@millerthomson.com
- Mr. James Maxim, Vice-President, jmaxim@telus.net
- Dr. Mark Milke, President, Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary, mark@markmilke.com
- Mr. Gordon Lang, board member, gordonblang@gmail.com
- You may also donate directly at http://www.churchillcalgary.ca/donate.html to arrange a charitable donation. As the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary is a registered charity, all donations will receive a tax receipt.
About the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary
The Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary is a registered charitable society, founded in 1966 by then-publisher of the Calgary Herald, Frank Swanson and Vera Swanson. Mr. Swanson was a war correspondent where he met Vera, born in Great Britain, and who would serve as his driver for a time, eventually marrying Frank and moving together to Canada after the war. Mrs. Vera Swanson was a lifelong member and patron of the Society until her passing at the age of 101 years, in April 2018.
The Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary is the annual sponsor of the Sir Winston Churchill High School debates and Mount Royal Moot Court debates. Bursaries are awarded to debate winners in both events. The Society also holds an annual spring dinner to commemorate the memory of Sir Winston Churchill.
A registered charity, the Society’s mission statement is as follows:
The Sir Winston Churchill Society promotes students' facility in the use of the spoken and written word emphasizing oratorical and communication skills as exemplified by the debates, speeches and writings of Sir Winston Spencer-Churchill.
The Society also exists to preserve and promote the legacy of Sir Winston Spencer-Churchill, including his achievements in the face of tyranny and the preservation of freedom, and in so doing commemorate his leadership and achievements.
