Former President George W. Bush, former British Prime Minister John Major, and more than two dozen other leading "Churchillians" from across the United States and Great Britain will address the 37th annual International Churchill Conference today and Saturday.
The two-day conference, hosted by America's National Churchill Museum in Fulton; the International Churchill Society in Cambridge, England; and the National Churchill Library and Center at The George Washington University in Washington D.C., will be entirely virtual this year. Members of the public may attend for free, though registration is required and may be completed at winstonchurchill.org/london2020. The conference will be held from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Central on both days.
The theme of this year's conference is "Churchill in Adversity," according to Timothy Riley, the Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator of America's National Churchill Museum.
Riley said the speaker line-up includes ambassadors, military professionals, security experts, historians, artists, and noted authors and biographers of former British Prime Minister Sir Winston S. Churchill, as well as a number of Churchill's family members. Speakers each day include:
Today
Allen Packwood, Director, Churchill Archives Centre
Laurence Geller, Chairman, International Churchill Society
Sir John Major, Former British Prime Minister
Lord Hague, Former British Foreign Secretary
Randolph Churchill, President, International Churchill Society and Churchill's Great-Grandson
Katherine Carter, Senior Collections and House Manager, Chartwell, National Trust
Paul Rafferty, artist and author of "Winston Churchill: Painting on the French Riviera"
Barry Phipps, Director of Studies in the History of Art, Churchill College
Edwina Sandys, artist, sculptor and granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill
President George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States
Jonathan Dimbleby, broadcaster and author
Lord Boateng, British Politician and Former Ambassador to South Africa
Rear Admiral Dr. Chris Parry, Senior Associate Fellow, Royal United Services Institute
Dr Karin von Hippel, Director General, Royal United Services Institute
Professor Andrew Roberts, historian and author of "Churchill: Walking with Destiny"
Saturday
Justin Reash, Executive Director, International Churchill Society/U.S., and Program Director of the National Churchill Library & Center
Mitchell B. Reiss, academic, diplomat and business leader
Ambassador Robert O'Brien, United States National Security Advisor
Cita Stelzer, historian and author of "Working with Winston: The Unsung Women Behind Britain's Greatest Statesman"
Nonie Chapman, Former Assistant to the Churchill Family
Lady Williams, Former Personal Secretary to Sir Winston Churchill
Emma Soames, British editor and Winston Churchill's granddaughter
Derek Greenwell, Chairman of the UK Conference Committee
Scott Johnson, Trustee, International Churchill Society/UK
David Freeman, editor of "Finest Hour", International Churchill Society
Andy Smith, Executive Director, International Churchill Society UK
Timothy Riley, Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator America's National Churchill Museum
Professor David Reynolds, professor emeritus of International History, Cambridge University
Catherine Grace Katz, historian and author of The Daughters of Yalta
Celia Sandys, Writer, broadcaster and granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill
Lord Dobbs, British politician and author
For a detailed schedule, including times and descriptions for each talk, visit winstonchurchill.org/london2020.