In the Footsteps of Winston Churchill

2006-06-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

Ditchley Park
Enstone, Chipping Norton, Oxforshire

Though I didn’t make the short drive from Oxford on Saturday afternoon to see Ditchley Park, I recently read an interesting story about it in the Churchill biography by Roy Jenkins.

I've always heard that Ditchley Park was offered to Churchill during W.W.I.I. because the weekend house for use by serving Prime Minister’s, Chequers, “in its Buckinghamshire hollow, was held to be unacceptably vulnerable at the time on the month ‘when the moon was high’”. This of course was deemed to present a much too easy target for the German Luftwaffe.

As I've always heard the story told it was offered as a safer weekend getaway.

As Roy Jenkins tells it; “Churchill reacted to this with a characteristic mixture of decision, buoyancy and self-centeredness. On the afternoon of Tuesday, 5 November (1940) he sent for Ronald Tree, Conservative MP for Haymarket Harborough, and informed him that, on the following Friday, he would like to arrive for the weekend at Ditchley, Tree’s north Oxfordshire country house, with the full apparatus of Downing Street-Chequers secretarial and communications (but not domestic) staff, and possibly a few other guests as well, and to use it on this basis on future weekends of security need. He in fact did so on a total of fifteen weekends over the next year and a half, the last being in March 1942.”

As Jenkins tells it, Tree and his wife were flattered at the request and most gracious and hospitable hosts, with Mrs. Tree writing the PM the following letter after the first weekend; “I have always been one of your greatest if most humble admirers – and I meant to tell you how delighted and honoured we all were to have you come to Ditchley. If it is convenient for you at any time to you no matter how short the notice – it is at your disposal.”

The View from Chartwell

2006-06-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

Chartwell
Westerham, Kent

We had a morning visit to Churchill’s beloved Chartwell on Wednesday. One of his private secretaries related a delightful story about each time the PM would arrive at the gates of the driveway. As one makes the final stretch of the drive, you come up a hill and then wind down and around several bends with the roofline of Chartwell finally appearing through the trees. Each time they were on this final part of the winding drive, cigars and papers would be flying everywhere around the car; once they reached the gates of Chartwell, Sir Winston would always repeat the same words, “Ah, Chartwell!”

As one walks up to the house from the gardens and comes across the lawn, it’s not difficult to fully understand why he fell instantly in love with this hilltop manor. The view is magnificent! Looking out across the front lawn at the trees, ponds, and the rolling fields below – it’s no surprise that the Sir Winston was always anxious to make the journey back here from London.

His purchase of Chartwell demonstrated just how brave a man he truly was; a very brave man indeed. In 1922 he purchased this home without first discussing it with Mrs. Churchill.

When she first arrived it was in a very bad state. The former owners hadn’t lived in the home for several years when Churchill purchased it, but the local doctor told a story of a visit to the former owner on a house call shortly before they moved away. When the doctor arrived, the infirm owner was sitting in bed in one of the upstairs bedrooms with an umbrella over his head!

The house was originally on the market in 1921 for ₤6,500 and didn’t sell. It came back on the market for ₤5,500 in 1922, and Churchill negotiated them down to ₤5,000. The place was in such a bad state that it took two years and another ₤12,000 to get it into good enough shape to move in.

2006-05-31T03:55:00.000-07:00

Ye Old Bell, Hurley

Ye Old Bell

2006-05-31T03:52:00.000-07:00

Hurley, Maidenhead, Berkshire

This past Wednesday evening I met the current Randolph Churchill. What a name that would be to carry around. He’s the great grandson of the PM, grandson of Randolph and his first wife, Pamela [later Harriman], and son of the current Winston S. Churchill.

His Grandmother is the same Pamela that married former New York Governor Averell Harriman in 1971, became a naturalized US citizen, and was appointed Ambassador to France in 1993 by Bill Clinton.

That’s some lineage.

I’d guess he's about 30 or so, charming fellow. He was kind enough to say a few words at the dinner last evening at The Old Bell, where we had our last dinner before continuing on to Oxford for the remainder of the week.

The Old Bell is an inn that dates from 1135. Being from California, it's particularly difficult to think in those terms. There's not much in California that’s more then 100 years old, except for our splendid Redwood trees.

What else was going on the in world in 1135?

Well, according to the History Channel World Timeline, here are a few highlights:

- Portugal becomes independent of the Moors.
- Louis VII ascends to the throne of France when his father, Louis VI, dies in 1137. The new King marries Eleanor, heiress to the Aquitaine, an immensely rich territory.
- King Henry I of England dies and is succeeded by his nephew, Stephen of Blois.
- Civil war begins in England when Matilda lands at Arundel with an army to support her claim to the throne against her cousin, Stephen, in 1139.
- Germany’s House of Brandenburg begins in 1134
- Rome’s Second Crusade is soon to end in disaster.
- Chinese seamen and caravan leaders employ crude magnetic compasses to navigate their journeys.
- The foundation for the University of Paris is laid.

Quite a good deal of action at this time in history….

2006-05-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire

2006-05-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

The Long Library, Blenheim Palace

2006-05-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

The Great Hall, Blenheim Palace

The Duchess of M.

2006-05-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

Blenheim Palace
Woodstock, Oxfordshire

At present, I'm sitting on the fast train out of Oxford Station heading for London’s Paddington Station. [On the weekends you can buy a “Cheap Day Single” and upgrade to First Class for ₤5.] Its late morning, and after a lovely breakfast at the Randolph Hotel in Oxford, where we’re been for the last several days, I'm heading back to London after an eight day long immersion into the life of one of the most international of statesmen, the Rt. Honorable Sir Winston S. Churchill. [One becomes the Rt. Honorable upon appointment as a Privy Councilor to the reigning monarch.]

One of the most exhilarating life experiences I've had to date, is being announced upon entry from the Long Library on the way in to meet Their Graces The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, before joining them for dinner in the Great Hall. Being announced by a footman, in full livery of white tie and red tailcoat.

We were welcomed to Blenheim Palace, the ancestral home of the Marlborough’s, with a Champagne reception prior to dinner. “Blenheim Palace” Champagne was served and seemed to be flowing rather freely. Near the entry to the Great Hall, there was a seating plan for the evening, and as I found my name at Table Four, I was pleased to know that our table host was to be the Duchess herself. There were eight tables for about 80 guests for the evening and I believe eight Churchill family members in attendance.

Upon hearing the footman loudly crack his gavel three times, and announce in a booming voice, "Dinner is served!" we were invited through the massive wooden doors and into the Great Hall. I found Table Four and began to look for my place card, and was naturally quite pleased when I found that the Duchess and I were seated next to one another for the evening.

The Duchess is at once, without a doubt, aristocratic and regal in her bearing and at the same time quite lively and engaging. We had a extraordinary conversion beginning with a discussion her recent trip the US to visit friends, including some time Palm Beach, Los Angeles and Sun Valley. I asked her where she stayed while in Los Angeles, and she said, “Well, I don’t know the area well enough, but it’s that rather nice area, not far from the Getty.” “Perhaps it was Bel Air?” I suggested. “Yes, exactly that’s it!” We discussed how magnificent the new Getty Museum is and that the collection contains one of her favorite paintings, by an Italian fellow, of who's name I can't at the moment recall. “We also went that pink hotel, you know the one; they have the restaurant with the horses,” she added. “Yes of course; the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel,” I offered. “Yes, exactly,” the Duchess replied. “Its one of my favorite spots, outside in the garden for a cocktail on a sunny day,” I said.

The conversation progressed to horses and dogs and she mentioned that she rides every morning and takes her dogs along for a miles-long ride. She asked if I have any dogs, and I said, “Yes, an English Spaniel, named Gus after the first Roman Emperor Augustus.” “Well, that’s rather regal,” she said, “Do you take him walking for miles in the morning?” “Well, a little ‘farm’ like you have here would be rather expensive in LA, but I do take him walking for a few blocks…” I replied somewhat sheepishly.

Scale is rather important in this type of atmosphere.

The conversion continued on and was very pleasant indeed; the meal and the wine was all served in the most gracious manner. A most memorable evening!

2006-05-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

"New College" Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst

2006-05-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

"New College" at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst

2006-05-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

Cadets marching this afternoon at Sandhurst.

A General Connection

2006-05-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

Ye Old Bell
Hurley, Berkshire

I'm sitting here in the pub of the Ye Old Bell in Berkshire, just a short walk from the river Themes. Thinking back about all that we’re seen in the last couple of days, its difficult to believe how much has been packed into these short eight days. It’s been absolutely excellent.

The Old Bell is billed as the oldest continually operating inn in Britain. It was founded in 1135, yes, that’s nearly 900 years of assisting guests to step out of their coaches and pouring them a pint. Our coach has quite a few more horses, only one driver and a rather surly footman [just kidding Gerry], so we’re really quite like those travelers of centuries past.

We went for a visit to Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst today with an excellent personal tour around by the Sandhurst Archivist.

There are a great many stories to tell, of which I will have to get to later on, because we’ll be leaving for Bletchley Park in about 30 minutes, so I only have time for one.

Of the many fascinating stories from yesterday that were told, the most intriguing was told in the Lords Room of Old College by our well-informed host. There are two great portraits on the wall, enormous in scale even for this great room. One is Lt. General Sir Eyre Coote and the other is his wife Lady Coote. There are two fascinating stories here, well, actually one much more fascinating then the other. First, is that Coote, as the Governor General of Jamaica had these great portraits created for the government building which he used as the Governor Generals residence in Kingston. In government buildings, portraits of spouses were expressly forbidden. An exception was made in this case and his wife hung along side him in the residence. The second tale with which we were regaled was about this fellow Coote was that though he had a long and very happy marriage he had an affair with a young slave girl, whom he also loved dearly; with this young girl he fathered a child.

When he left Jamaica, they had to be separated as she could not accompany him back to England; therefore he set her up quite well, with plenty of money and a home in which to live. The family lived well and prospered, and eventually immigrated, some time later, to the USA.

This family later produced one of America’s most illustrious leaders, former Head of the Joint Chief’s of Staff and Secretary of State, Colin Powell. Not only can Powell trace his lineage back directly to Lt. General Coote, but also further back, directly through Coote to Edward I of England, one of England’s great soldier Kings.

Burning moments that can change history

2006-05-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

East Bergholt, Suffolk

“Stour” is the country house that Randolph Churchill, son of the Prime Minister, purchased upon deciding to move from London in 1957. It’s still in private hands and we were incredibly fortunate to be able to see it at the generosity of its current owners, Mr. & Mrs. Kelly. The organizers of the tour, Richard and Barbara Langworth had written the Kelly’s a letter regarding our trip, and had somehow persuaded them to host us with a lunch of sandwiches and sausage rolls.

Also organized for this stop was a tour and talk by Churchill’s official biographer, Sir Martin Gilbert. Sir Martin had started work as in intern for Randolph, working on “The Book” as they called it, in this very house, when he just out of school in 1963. It was wonderful to hear the first-hand account of the goings-on in the house some forty years ago.

Randolph had convinced his father’s trust to allow him to complete the official biography of his father, Sir Winston. All of the archives were at that time held in a strong-room on the property, which has since been converted into a garage, with the heavy steal door is still on the rear of the building.

Randolph was a rather colorful character, to say the least; known to be habitually abusive, particularly when drinking, which in the account of his doctor, Dr. Marsh, who was also in attendance at the lunch, was every day. Strong personalities certainly seem to run in the family…

There were many stories told, but one that I found most interesting, and certainly changed the course of history, was the one that Sir Martin told about an evening when Randolph was giving a dinner for his mother. It was all arranged to be a very fine dinner, Randolph had even dressed himself up from his normal rags he wore around the house, and refrained from drinking the entire day.

Randolph had invited his mother Clementine in order to try to convince her to allow him to use the personal letters of Sir Winston as material for the biography.

All was set, and Randolph as a sign of respect, went to the train station himself to collect his guest.

As they we having dinner, something terrible happened. Sir Martin considers it quite personal and private, and wouldn't disclose what it was, but sadly, Clementine asked Gilbert to take her immediately back to the station. Sir Martin then accompanied her on the train back to London.

During his employ with Randolph he had come to know Mrs. Churchill and during the trip on the train she asked, “Martin, there are three possible things that I can do with these letters; first, I could burn them. Second, I could have them sealed until 100 years after my death, or third, I could allow them to be used for the biography. What do you think I should do?”

Gilbert was truly shocked at the magnitude of the question posed him, but the young historian didn’t take long to convince her that they were a crucial part of “The Book” and should be included. And included they were.

Full Rear Assault

2006-05-23T00:18:00.000-07:00

White House Hotel
London

I was pleasantly engaged in a chat with three on my fellow travelers on my journey and all of a sudden, from behind a full rear assault by a woman of a certain age and a somewhat familiar face. She stormed me from behind so I didn’t see it coming whatsoever. She forced her hand in mine and said, “Hello, I'm Mary Soames…”

Well, it all took me by such great surprise, and I'm used to calling people by their first names, I replied, “Hi Mary, its very nice to meet you.” Just in that instant, I processed the last of what she had just said and asked myself, “Did she just say Soames?” Indeed she had and I had just called Winston and Clementine’s daughter, and patron of The Churchill Centre, Lady Mary Soames by her first name.

It wasn’t so much of a major diplomatic incident, as it was a rather minor social blunder, but she seemed to take it all in good style and grace and without the blink of an eye, on she went introducing herself to the rest of the group. She has a personality that’s instantly likable; engaging and very agreeable in manner. A very lovely woman indeed.

A Swords Length in the Commons

2006-05-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

White House Hotel
London

We continued on from the House of Lords through the Central Lobby which is the lobby that lies between both of the houses of parliament. Their constitution provides that any constituent, at any time can come into this lobby and demand to see their representative. These days of course “lobbying” is a bit more organized then strolling in unannounced.

My favorite story our guide told was about the organization and running of the place itself. The story is about the carpets on the center of the floor in the House of Commons. On the carpets on each side of the house running parallel with the benches is a 6in. [or so] wide red stripe. One of the rules of the House is that the members while standing and speaking cannot cross beyond this red line. These red lines run parallel to one another on each the government and opposition sides of the house. The design was such that these lines are exactly the two sword lengths apart, for reasons that may not be so obvious today, unless one understands that parliment has been meeting in this location since being offered the space by King Edward VI in 1547.

Once we had a look at the House of Commons, including its new bullet-proof glass screen sectioning off the visitors benches, we made our way back in to the Central Lobby. We were fortunate enough to have included our group of fellow Churchillite from the New York, Randall Baker. Through a club of his he made the acquaintance of a one Nigel Evans, MP. Nigel was good enough to stand in the Central Lobby with us, answering a few questions and introducing us to a few interesting colleagues.

He first introduced us to David Lammy, the Cabinet Minister who heads up the Ministry of Culture. I can see how one would vote for David Lammy to represent their constituency, as he was immediately very engaging and likable. He commented on the fact that in America we have The National Endowment for the Arts and in the UK they have an entire ministry dedicated to culture.

Next Nigel introduced us to a former colleague of the House of Commons, now sitting in the House of Lords. Lord Brookside and Evans had obviously known each other for quite some time and had quite an interesting and humorous repartee. Evans mentioned that Lord Brookside had voted against the measure to ban foxhunting, and Brookside responded, “Yes and my two daughters nearly disowned me over it. They got on their boots and went out to the hunt and lay out in the field to stop the hunts.” He then went on to say that his family and colleagues have taken to calling him “Tally-Ho Brookside.”

The measure passed of course…

Lords and Ladies

2006-05-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

London

We had an 8:45 departure this morning [Monday] from the hotel; first stop The Palace of Westminster, or more commonly known as the Houses of Parliament.

I’ve been to London many times before and there’s much to see, but I’ve never been to see Parliament from the inside prior to this trip. Our guides were able to secure a tour for us thanks to the courtesy of The Hon. Nicholas Soames, MP, grandson of Sir. Winston.

Due to all the terrorists and security troubles, security is naturally quite tight around the building itself. Barricades and Bobbies everywhere. Everything however is quite in the British tradition and highly organized. We’re off the bus and through the security in no time at all thanks to our rather efficient British guide Gerry Clark. We were organized into small groups each with a very professional guide. Our fellow had obviously been doing this for quite some time, though he was young, he had some great stories about some of the origins of the customs and traditions of the parliament.

The original part of this magnificent building was built in 1097 during the reign of King William II. This Great Hall is now under refurbishment and it’s mainly used for the lying of state; most recently Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. The building itself has over 1000 rooms and in that fine British tradition, nine pubs.

To look down the across Great Hall from the entrance is a breathtaking sight; a great site indeed, a vast open space with something like 14 tons of English Oak making up the roof. One can actually smell the history that has taken place in this great room.

The first room that we entered when we arrived was one of the apartments of state. This is the room where the monarch will enter; crown themselves, be then robed by their attendants, and proceed into the House of Lords to open Parliament each year.

Naturally such a grand room requires ample amounts of gold leaf. So much so in this case that one artist spent countless years on the project in such focus and determination that he finally went completely mad and was checked into a lunatic asylum.

After leaving this very grand state apartment we preceded, as Queen Elizabeth II has done since she succeeded to the throne of England in 1953, into the House of Lords. There are only 92 hereditary lords in the house these days. There were 724 until Tony Blair’s government succeeded in eliminating the majority of them. In addition to the remaining 92, there are 699 peers, two Archbishops, and 24 Bishops that make up the Lords.

The First Morning in London

2006-05-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Endel Street, London

I had an excellent night’s sleep last night, after being out at a drinks party at a flat over in Marylebone until 1:30 AM. What jet lag?

I'm sitting here at a small sidewalk café just off Covent Garden after having had an excellent little full-English breakfast at The Old Express in this tucked-away little market just off Park Lane in Mayfair; The Sheppard Market. I thought this time of year was supposed to be before the tourist season begins but the streets are packed with shoppers and assorted sight-seeers. It’s astounding how many languages that one hears while strolling about the City.

Tonight, the first event; invited is the patron of The Churchill Centre, Winston and Clementine’s daughter, Lady Mary Soames.

Heathrow Express

2006-05-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

Friday 20 May 2006
Heathrow Airport

I caught the Heathrow Express and if you haven't ever done this, it’s the new train that goes directly to Paddington Station. It gets you from Heathrow to the City in 15 minutes. All the cabbies are of course upset about it, but such is progress. Last year when I was in London I actually got a stern lecture by a cabbie, because the doorman at the hotel asked where we were going and I said, “Heathrow.” Well, when we got in the cab in said, “Paddington Station, please.” The cabbie said, “I though you were going to Heathrow?” “Yes we are, on the Paddington Express.” Well ‘ee wasn’t ‘appy.”

Flight to Heathrow

2006-05-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

Friday May 19, 2006
Somewhere above the Pole

Flight was excellent. We arrived at Heathrow a few minutes early and I actually had very nice service from two flight attendants, both English. Well, actually from one. She was very sweet and genuine and the other had been flying with United since the Magna Carta was written. I gave them both the little appreciation comment forms that United sends out every once in while. I gave one to the first because she was indeed very sweet, and to the second because I thought she really needed something to cheer her up... she seemed in dire need of it. I had a nice meal, several glasses of wine and an Ambien.

There was a very delightful lady that I shared the row with; she is a nurse from West Virginia and living in Honolulu. She and I were both reading, but had a very enjoyable conversion over dinner. She was just engaged, so is traveling to Scotland with a girlfriend for a week, touring around with no plans at all – just a list of B&B’s around the country. Sounds refreshingly fun.

I woke up an hour before landing with breakfast of fruit and pastry. I'm sure it’s difficult to bake at 30,000 feet; seriously, do things rise at that altitude? Stick with the fresh fruit. We arrived about mid-day as fresh as new.

2006-05-20T01:07:00.000-07:00

LAX
Red Carpet Club.

Ahh – a nice crisp, cold glass of Chardonnay. Well, cheap Chardonnay, but its cold. Well, I'm still sitting here in the Red Carpet Club, and as I said earlier it’s rather busy here. All I could hear were middle-aged white guys chatting on their cell phones about.. well I didn’t really care what, actually. So, I thought that I would try out all my little gadgets while I'm in here. I'm already on the Internet thanks to a little wireless company called Boingo. [Cool huh?] So, I pulled out my new little ear-bud headphones and loaded up Windows Media Player and now all I hear is Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17. It’s blaring away and truly amazing. Divine really. It’s like sitting here in the midst of commotion and chaos and feeling like I'm in a dream. I can still see their mouths moving, but all I hear is Mozart! Anyone finding this as amusing as I am?

I think that I may have time for one more glass of wine before I have to pack up…

I came back to my favorite spot and realized that someone else had taken it, which really was fine, because I needed to find a place that I could charge up my battery anyway. So, I sit down, plug my computer in and before I'm able to explode the room with Mozart again I overhead the most absurd conversation. This guy is talking on the phone… in a rather low-voice, hushed tones, but a rather intense conversation. Something about, “Well, I hope you’re happy.” That sort of thing. Anyway, before I can take out my headphones, I've been listening to this for about five minutes or so. Blah, blah, blah, he goes and I'm trying to ignore it, then he says; “By the way, do you know where my Cheeto’s went?” Naturally it catches my attention; I'm thinking you can’t really be pissed off about your Cheeto’s; can you? Well, then he goes on a moment longer and I hear, “chino’s,” and still; what a dumb thing to fight about. He finishes his conversion, hangs up and says, “Whatever.”

Am I the only one having fun here?

I'm so excited that I can hardly contain myself and these people are discussing meetings with their bosses and fighting over processed snack-foods full of partially hydrogenated oils made by huge American conglomerates.

My flight’s on time. I'm out of here and off to gate 74.

2006-05-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

LAX

I arrived here at LAX a short time ago. Check-in was a breeze; I think it took all of about 10 minutes to use the kiosk, get my boarding pass and get through security. I didn’t actually realize that you could use the kiosks for international flights, but you just select your flight, enter your first, middle, and last name, then passport number and off you go. The staff seemed a little overwhelmed though. They have to come by to take your bags and so they can put the tags on; obviously they don’t need as many hands on deck as the old days, but the still seemed a bit overworked and tad frantic. Pleasant enough though.

The Red Carpet club is absolutely packed; hardly a seat to be had and I couldn’t find one with power, so I'm on battery. So I run out in the middle of a senten…

I had a very pleasant reception as I arrived in the Red Carpet Club. The attendant checked my boarding pass then asked, “Would care for a drink Mr Olsen?” “Would I care for a drink – well absolutely!” was perhaps too immediate reply. “Well, the first two are on me.” I'm trying to remember the last time I had a women by me a drink? Speaking of which, I'm off to the bar….

When I said “In the footsteps of Churchill” I wasn’t kidding.

2006-05-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles

Departure -1

Tomorrow I shall depart for England and I hope to be able to convincingly and effectively convey the journey in photos and these diary entries. I do hope that it will be as enjoyable for one to read as it will be for me to experience and to write along the way. It will of course be my perspective, and as Churchill once said,

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”

2006-05-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles

Departure -2

In two days I shall become a foreigner.

I'm in the final stages of confirming reservations and sorting out what to pack for the adventure upon which I am about to set out. I checked the weather in London – a bit of rain intermixed with a bit of sunshine here and there over the course of the next week. It shall be perfect. I need to make sure to remember to pack my traveling umbrella though…

As Sir Winston said in the House of Commons in 1945, “It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at the time.”

The British Intelligence Connection

2006-05-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles

Another one of the other more fascinating responses that I got to my letter of introduction was from a friend here in Los Angeles, whose grandfather’s best friend was Sir William Samuel Stephenson, CC, MC, DFC (January 23, 1897 – January 31, 1989).

He was a fascinating character, here’s part of what Wikipedia has to say: a Canadian who fought in W.W.I with the Canadian Army Engineers, then transferred to the British Royal Flying Corps in 1917, after learning to fly while he was recovering from being gassed in 1916. Stephenson flew the British Sopwith Camel fighter biplane and scored twelve victories before he was shot down and captured by the Germans on July 28, 1918.

The entry goes on: In the lead up to W.W.II, he became a wealthy industrialist and “As early as April 1936 Stephenson was voluntarily providing confidential information to the British, passing on detailed information to British opposition MP Winston Churchill about how Hitler's Nazi government was building up its armed forces and hiding military expenditures of eight hundred million pounds sterling. This was a clear violation of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and showed the growing Nazi threat to European and international security; Churchill used Stephenson's information in Parliament to warn against the appeasement polices of the government of Neville Chamberlain.

After World War II began… Winston Churchill sent Stephenson to the United States on June 21, 1940 to covertly establish and run the British Security Coordination (BSC) in New York City, over a year prior to the US entering the war.

The BSC office, headquartered in room 3603 in Rockefeller Center, became an umbrella organization that by the end of the war represented the British intelligence agencies MI5, MI6 (SIS or Secret Intelligence Service), SOE (Special Operations Executive) and PWE (Political Warfare Executive) throughout North America, South America and the Caribbean.

In his role as the senior representative of British intelligence in the western hemisphere, Stephenson was one of the few people in the hemisphere authorized to view raw Ultra transcripts from the British Bletchley Park code-breaking of German Enigma ciphers. He was trusted by Churchill to decide what Ultra information to pass along to various branches of the US and Canadian governments.”

Le Grand Introduction

2006-05-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles

It’s now one week from departure, D -7 and counting!

Last weekend I emailed a short letter of introduction, discussing my upcoming trip, to a number of contacts in my address book which included friend’s, family, and colleagues. I also emailed it to the Churchill group on Google, thinking that there may be a few interested parties there... I don’t send many emails in an exceedingly wide distribution like this, but I thought this was one occasion that demanded such an action.

The responses I have received have been quite fascinating. Until one makes an announcement such as this, one dosen't realize how wide a net it may cast...

One of the first was from a friend who is retired lawyer in Washington who took an interesting historical holiday recently. He the Executive VP of a group called the Napoleonic Alliance and he wrote:

“… 50 of us made a pilgrimage to Paris on the occasion of the 200th anniversary on December 2 of Napoleon's coronation, the concert held at La Madeleine, the classical church facing the Place de la Concord whose interior is absolutely majestic. In black tie, we filed in to a drum roll rendered by Grenadiers de la Garde Imperiale in their tall bearskins, a salute as one of the patrons of the affair, and we were seated in a prime location. Le tout Paris was there including the descendants of the Imperial family. I was introduced to a tall dignified affable fellow who did not have a coveted ticket, and I was about to donate my own (being already in) when he smiled politely and stated he didn't need one. He was Nicolas Davout, duc d'Auerstadt and prince d'Eckmuhl, a descendant of one of Napoleon's most illustrious marshals. After the concert, we repaired to a late dinner at Le Grand Vefour, a restaurant in period decor preferred by Napoleon and Josephine…”

Letter of Introduction for the Trip

2006-05-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles

Here's the letter that I emailed out to my contacts this past weekend:

----------------------

Dear friends, family, and colleagues,

As many of you know, if we’ve spoken recently, I’ll be taking a trip at the end of the month with The Churchill Centre and the International Churchill Society called, “Churchill’s England.”

There will be 50 of us on this educational holiday; visiting historic sites and meeting scholars, some of his family members, and former associates. We’ll be spending eight captivating days together, immersed in retracing the steps of the former Prime Minister.

Several highlights on the itinerary are: a private tour of Parliament [courtesy of The Hon. Nicholas Soames, MP], a tour of the new Churchill Museum at the Cabinet War Rooms with curator Phil Reed, a day at the Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge with director Allen Packwood, a visit to Churchill’s family house Chartwell, including a discussion with curator Carole Kenwright and Minnie Churchill. Also, possibly joining us at Chartwell will be Churchill’s last private secretary from 1952-65, Anthony Montague Browne and his wife, who live nearby. We’ll be finishing off with two black-tie dinners; first at Blenheim Palace, the ancestral home of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and birthplace of Churchill, and the second at the Randolph Hotel in Oxford.

Many other splendid stops await us along the way, of which I hope you will find interesting reading here.

I've been looking forward, with great anticipation, to this historical journey and I'm inviting YOU to come along as well. I've created a travel journal, or BLOG, just for the occasion and will have journal entries from the pre-planning of the trip, through each of the day’s activities.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with BLOG’s, they are merely a way on the Internet to create journal entries, along with photos and links to other web sites. It’s quite easy to read and navigate through, and you are welcome to post comments if you like. It will be displayed in reverse chronological order, newest first, down to the oldest pre-departure entries.

I’ll be departing for England on May 18th and the official trip will begin on Saturday May 20th, so if you like, please do come along on this journey with me. All you have to do is click:

In the Footsteps of Churchill

Remember what Sir Winston said, “The most important thing about education is appetite.”

See you in England.

--john

2006-05-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the anniversary of Churchill becoming Prime Minister on May 10, 1940. Here’s an interesting link to a site with a description of the event and a postal commemorative of the anniversary.

http://www.ronnei.com/may10.html

2006-05-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

The first time that I decided to read a book specific to a city that I was visiting was while I was in Florence three or four years ago. I found it was a brilliant and much more engaging experience to be in the midst of reading a volume about Michelangelo’s creation of the statue of David [Il Gigante by Anton Gill] while being in Florence and visiting the Academia to view his work. Through the course of my stay, I would walk to a particular square or landmark, as it was being discussed, and would sit on the steps or in a café nearby and thoroughly enjoy being present in the precise spot where the story was unfolding.

I decided that this was a practice I was going to continue on every trip that I would take from that moment on.

I've read a number of books about Sir Winston Churchill, but never a complete biography. So, for this trip I decided on one of the two definitive biographies of Churchill. The one I decided upon was by Roy Jenkins. It’s about a thousand pages long and I decided I would start preparing by reading a month before leaving on this trip. I decided that I’d like to be just about midway through the book, completely immersed in the life of Sir Winston, as I depart for my journey to England. I just finished page 365 yesterday, so I’ve got about 100 pages or so to go prior to leaving on May 18.

The other definitive biography of Sir Winston was written by Sir Martin Gilbert. I didn’t realize that Sir Martin would be along on this trip and that I would get a chance to meet him; otherwise I probably would’ve decided on his biography, instead of the one currently reading.

I went to Barns and Noble a couple of months ago and I looked both of these biographies over and decided that I liked the first paragraph of Roy Jenkins book so much, I decided to purchase it.

The first chapter begins with, “Churchill’s provenance was aristocratic, indeed ducal, and some have seen this as the most important key to his whole career. That is unconvincing. Churchill was far too many faceted, idiosyncratic and unpredictable a character to allow himself to be imprisoned by the circumstances of his birth.”

That was enough for me; I had to continue reading. I am thoroughly enjoying the book, though it is taking a little extra research on the side in order to understand more about the parliamentary system, with which I am somewhat unfamiliar. So, a good learning experience all around.

I’m also finding that cross referencing some of the events that are taking place in this biography with another book that I purchased a recently, ”Speaking for Themselves, The Personal Letters of Winston and Clementine Churchill,” is a wonderful way to get multiple perspectives. “Speaking for Themselves” was compiled by one of their daughters, Lady Mary Soames [whom I am also looking forward to meeting on this trip]. It’s a wonderfully intimate portrait of a 57 year love affair… and political partnership.

2006-04-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

Early preparations. I’m counting down the twenty days left before departure – all very exciting! I’ll be leaving on May 18, 2006 and flying from Los Angeles directly to Heathrow on United flight 934. I’ve been planning now for weeks about what to pack and getting everything else organized for my departure. The trip includes two black-tie events and everyone is limited to two pieces of luggage, so it’s going to take some smart packing.

I’ve got my laptop ready to go with the appropriate converters and I’ve got my unlocked quad-band cell phone ready to accept a SIM card for the UK. I generally use a Virgin Mobile card, which you can buy for about ₤10 at any Virgin Record store in the UK. This will give me the ability to have a local number while on my journey. If you haven’t done this before, check out the details on this site: The Travel Insider.

Your mobile phone company doesn’t want you to know about this because they want to charge you outrageous roaming rates. This means that you will have a local phone number and be paying local rates, however your U.S. phone number won’t ring through. Who wants all those phone calls from home anyway? All you have to do is call the people you want to be in touch with and give them your new British phone number.

There is a company that I found here in the U.S. where you can actually order these SIM cards in advance, but naturally you do pay a little extra this way. I found this company that’s based in San Diego to be quick and reliable; Telestial. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to buy a SIM card locally when I went to Morocco last year so I didn’t mind paying the extra charge to have it before I left on my trip.

2006-04-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

I received a package from The Churchill Center in Washington DC in the fall of 2005 announcing the plans for this trip to England, “Churchill’s England”: The 12th Churchill Tour. It’s interesting the timing because in the last year I’ve been thinking a lot about educational holidays. Yes, it’s fine to go and you see the sights of a new city, but I’ve wanted to mix in something educational to take away more from the experience.

I was immediately interested, but I thought I can’t possibly take a week or two off of work in the spring in order to take this trip. Then I thought to myself, “Why not?”

Why not indeed.

As I was reading through the itinerary and the description of the trip I saw I was limited to 50 participants, so I immediately got on the telephone to call the Center and registered myself on the list.

Ever since that moment, about six months ago, I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring.

2006-04-26T12:21:00.000-07:00

First, a little about me.

I’ve always had a keen interest in the great leaders of history. I’m fascinated by what makes some people ordinary and others extraordinary. For as long as I can remember I've had had an immense admiration for Winston Churchill, partly because of the fact that he had to overcome great obstacles in order to achieve his extraordinary successes. So, I spend as much time as possible reading, with a particular focus on history.

I work in the real estate business in Los Angeles, I also have a partnership that does consulting, and a few years ago I started a nonprofit foundation. Needless to say, I get bored easily and like having a variety of projects to keep me busy. I’m currently thinking about five projects for the non-profit; The Life is Amazing Foundation. The first project is a book of twelve inspirational stories. The subtitle for the book is “How Twelve Ordinary People Found Extraordinary Passion in their Lives.” So far, I’ve found the first two people for the book. [By-the-way if you know someone who might be appropriate for the book please do send me an e-mail at: johnolsen@pacbell.net].

Prior to getting into my current occupation(s), I was in the technology business for about ten years. I worked for Microsoft in Redmond, Washington and Paris, France and then I consulted for Disney Online for three years.

I'm very passionate about technology and I love history, so this blog on my trip to England is a perfect interconnection of the two.