Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts

Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts

The photographer Yousuf Karsh donated the image rights to the Trusts for their logo
Founder(s)	Field Marshall Lord Alexander of Tunis
Founded	1 February 1965
Location	London, UK; Canberra, Australia; Wellington, New Zealand
Origins	Living memorial to Sir Winston Churchill
Area served	UK, Australia, New Zealand
Focus	World peace and mutual understanding through projects requiring international travel
Method	Travel Fellowships
Endowment	UK£2.75 million (UK:1965)
Motto	With opportunities comes responsibility.
Website	wcmt.org.uk churchilltrust.com.au dia.govt.nz

Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship Medal, Obverse

Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship Medal, Reverse, Recipient name redacted

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill. They are based in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. (An attempt in 1964 by then Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson and George A. Drew to launch a fourth Trust in Canada did not come to fruition, in part due to the illness and death of the latter.)

The UK Trust was founded on 1 February 1965, the day after Churchill's funeral. Elizabeth II extended her Royal Patronage to the Trust in 1965.

The Trusts were founded to 'perpetuate and honour the memory of Sir Winston Churchill' by administering the award of Travelling Fellowships known as a Churchill Fellowship. While the three Trusts are independent, they have a similar approach, identifying potential themes each year and inviting members of the public to submit applications under these themes. The applications are vetted and a shortlist is created. People on this shortlist are then interviewed and the successful ones are awarded a Fellowship. The Trusts are not primarily concerned with scientists and scholars for whom opportunities for research and study already exist. The focus is to offer opportunity to 'men and women from all walks of life'.

Today, they receive sufficient funds for four weeks of foreign travel and subsistence, and the majority of recipients plan a trip of this length. In Australia the average award is A$25000 and the Trust administers a number of additional 'sponsored' Fellowships.

The recipients organise their own travel and undertake their own research. Upon their return, they submit a report to the Trustees. Once their report is accepted, they are formally installed as Fellows and receive their insignia, consisting of a specially minted Churchill Medal, at a national award ceremony.

Applicants must be citizens of the respective country and the research must necessitate foreign travel.

An implication taken from the award of a Fellowship is that the recipient is a leader or has potential leadership in their field of endeavour, and that the Fellowship will strengthen their usefulness to society. They are encouraged to promote the Fellowships, encouraging others to apply, and thus perpetuating the memory of Churchill.

There are local Associations to which Fellows may belong, and which generally maintain links with the respective Trust headquarters.

Notable Fellows by country and year

United Kingdom

Year	Fellow	Occupation / profession	Purpose / project / findings	Location of study
1969	James Reid	Minister	Studied and observed in practise the comparatively new discipline of pastoral theology, concentrating on the work of counselling centres in the community.[citation needed]	UK, USA
1976	Dr. Jane Wilson-Howarth	Ecologist	Discovered numerous species that were new to science and named one, a springtail, Troglopedetes churchillatus in honour of Churchill.	Nepal
1982	Nick Danziger	Travel artist and author	Travelling on foot and by traditional local transport, Danziger traversed from western Europe to China, and published Danziger’s Travels as a result.	Western Europe and China
2004	Dr. Steven Mannion	Pediatric surgeon	Having repopularised the Ponseti Method for treating infnatile club foot, Mannion worked with Ignacio Ponseti, the inventor of the method.[citation needed]	Iowa, USA
2006	Chris Smith	Kayaker-Writer	Explored the Rivers of Madagascar.	Madagascar

Australia

Year	Fellow	Occupation / profession	Purpose / project / findings	Location of study
2006	Jonathan Oehm	Certified Journeyman Farrier	The James Love Churchill Fellowship to study advanced theraputic and remedial farriery techniques
2009	Joanna Bosse	Assistant Curator, Ian Potter Museum of Art	Developed new curatorial models for Australian art museums to work with Indigenous artists and their communities	Canada, USA
	Nicholas I. Bochner		The Dame Roma Mitchell Churchill Fellowship to study the use of improvisation in teaching classical music	UK
	Monique Conheady	Founder and CEO, Flexicar	Investigated public transport systems utilising the latest technology to incorporate newer forms of transit such as bicycles and car sharing	China, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, USA, Columbia
	Dr Catherine Crock		The Jack Brockhoff Foundation Churchill Fellowship to investigate the benefits of family involvement in effective healthcare by examining patient and family centred care models	USA
	Samuel T Murray	President, ASSID Vic	Assessing the impact of compulsory registration and accreditation systems of support staff on disability service provision	UK and USA
	Sarah Maddison	Social scientist and academic	Studying models of Indigenous representation	USA and Canada

New Zealand

Year	Fellow	Occupation / profession	Purpose / project / findings	Location of study
1973	Don Merton	Conservationist	Study the management of endangered species.[citation needed]	USA and Europe