Churchill's last surviving child, Lady Mary Soames, dies aged 91

[Blackleaf]

Churchill's last surviving child, Lady Mary Soames, has died aged 91 after a short illness.

Mary, who was the youngest of Sir Winston and Clementines's five children, passed away peacefully at her west London home yesterday evening surrounded by her family, after a short illness.

One of her sons, Nicholas Soames, the Conservative MP for Mid Sussex, who was also the Shadow Defence Secretary between 2003 and 2005, said: 'She was a truly remarkable and extraordinary woman, who led a very distinguished life.

'This is extraordinary timing - just before the anniversary of the Normandy landings, Churchill's last surviving child dies. It is the great swing of history.'

Mary Churchill worked for the Red Cross and the Women's Voluntary Service from 1939 to 1941, and joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service with whom she served in London, Belgium and Germany in mixed anti-aircraft batteries, rising to the rank of Junior Commander (equivalent to Captain).

She also accompanied her father as aide-de-camp on several of his overseas journeys, including his post-VE trip to Potsdam, where he met with US president Harry S Truman and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

She married the Conservative politician Christopher Soames (later Baron Soames) in 1947 and they had five children - Nicholas, Emma, Jeremy, Charlotte and Rupert.

She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her public service, particularly in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and was appointed a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter in 2005.

Her father was British Prime Minister twice - from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955.

Winston Churchill's last surviving daughter Lady Mary Soames dies at the age of 91

Lady Soames died at her west London home after a short illness
One of her sons MP Nicholas Soames said she was a 'remarkable woman'
She worked for the Red Cross and Women's Voluntary Service
Also accompanied her father on several overseas journeys

By Wills Robinson
1 June 2014
Daily Mail

Lady Mary Soames, 91, died peacefully at her west London home yesterday evening surrounded by her family, after a short illness

Winston Churchill's last surviving daughter, Lady Mary Soames, has died at the age of 91.

She passed away peacefully at her west London home yesterday evening surrounded by her family, after a short illness.

She was the youngest of the five children of the wartime prime minister and his wife Clementine.

One of her sons, the Conservative MP Nicholas Soames, said: 'She was a truly remarkable and extraordinary woman, who led a very distinguished life.'

Mary Churchill worked for the Red Cross and the Women's Voluntary Service from 1939 to 1941, and joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service with whom she served in London, Belgium and Germany in mixed anti-aircraft batteries, rising to the rank of Junior Commander (equivalent to Captain).

She also accompanied her father as aide-de-camp on several of his overseas journeys, including his post-VE trip to Potsdam, where he met with US president Harry S Truman and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

She married the Conservative politician Christopher Soames (later Baron Soames) in 1947 and they had five children - Nicholas, Emma, Jeremy, Charlotte and Rupert.

Lady Soames served many public organisations, such as the International Churchill Society, as a Patron; Church Army and Churchill Houses; and chaired the Royal National Theatre.

She was Patron of the National Benevolent Fund for the Aged.

Lady Mary's son - Churchill's grandson - the Tory MP for Mid Sussex Nicholas Soames, said: 'She was a truly remarkable and extraordinary woman, who led a very distinguished life.'

She is pictured with her father at her wedding at St. Margaret's Church, London in 1947

She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her public service, particularly in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and was appointed a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter in 2005.

She wrote an acclaimed biography of her mother, Clementine Churchill, in 1979, which won a Wolfson Prize, and her own memoirs.

Mr Soames said: 'She was not just a wonderful mother to whom we were all devoted, but the head and heart of our family after our father died, and will be greatly missed.

'She was a distinguished writer and led a distinguished life, with her service in the War, and is part of that generation which is passing.

'This is extraordinary timing - just before the anniversary of the Normandy landings, Churchill's last surviving child dies. It is the great swing of history.'

She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her public service, particularly in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and was appointed a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter in 2005

Winston Churchill's daughter Lady Mary Soames dies at 91 | Mail Online

 

[talloola]

that was so very interesting, she definitely didn't sit back and let others do the doing, she obviously

wanted to be part of the action, and that she did.

good for her, R I P

 

[Sal]

quite the woman! ♦

 

[Nuggler]

Looks like Maggie Thatcher's sister.

 

[JLM]

Sorry to hear that, I read a biography of Winston lately and she was the sole offspring that was what you would call normal and outlived all her siblings by many years.

 

[Blackleaf]

She was also a distant cousin of Princess Diana, being a fellow Spencer. Churchill's full surname was actually Spencer-Churchill, and he was from the same family of Spencers that Diana came from.

 

[JLM]

She was also a distant cousin of Princess Diana, being a fellow Spencer. Churchill's full surname was actually Spencer-Churchill, and he was from the same family of Spencers that Diana came from.

Yeah, there's a lot of incest over there!

 

[Blackleaf]

Sorry to hear that, I read a biography of Winston lately and she was the sole offspring that was what you would call normal and outlived all her siblings by many years.

Randolph Churchill: Tory MP for Preston between 1940 and 1945, who shared the same Christian name as his paternal grandfather, Lord Randolph, who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for India.



While attending Oxford, Churchill became embroiled in the controversy of February 1933 King and Country debate. Three weeks after the associated pacifist resolution was passed, Churchill proposed a resolution at the Oxford Union to delete the "King and Country" motion from the Union's records but this was defeated by 750 votes to 138 in a rowdy debate (one which was better attended than the original debate), where Churchill was met by a barrage of hisses and stink bombs. A bodyguard of Oxford Conservatives and police escorted Churchill back to his hotel after the debate. Former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath records in his memoirs that Churchill was then chased around Oxford by undergraduates who intended to debag him (i.e. humiliate him by removing his trousers), and was then fined by the police for being illegally parked.

It is alleged that Randolph, who had a serious drink problem, had an illegitimate daughter in Oklahoma in 1956.

The writer Evelyn Waugh, whom Randolph served alongside during WWII, who was a friend, captured the mood of many after Churchill had had a growth removed by surgery. On hearing that the growth was not malignant, Waugh said "It was a typical triumph of modern science to find the one part of Randolph which was not malignant and to remove it."

He died in 1968 aged 57.
******************

Sarah Millicent Hermione Tuchet-Jesson, Baroness Audley was an actress and dancer.

During her life she was married three times.

It has been both stated and confirmed by multiple sources, including Sarah Churchill's own sister, Lady Mary Soames, that Winston and Clementine Churchill neither liked nor approved of Sarah's first two husbands. Towards the end of her marriage to Vic Oliver, she began an affair with the American ambassador to Britain, John Winant; it is believed the failure of the relationship contributed to the depression that led to his suicide in 1947.Only Sarah's third marriage to Baron Henry Audley (the love of her life, it was said) was greeted with warm approval by both parents.

Churchill is best known for her role in the film Royal Wedding (1951) as Anne Ashmond, romantic interest of Fred Astaire as Tom Bowen.

Churchill appeared in a London revival of Shaw’s Pygmalion in the 1950s, but drink had become a problem. She was arrested for making a scene in the street on a number of occasions and even spent a short spell on remand in Holloway Prison. She is very frank about this in her 1981 autobiography Keep on Dancing.

She died on 24th September 1982.
**********************

Diana Spencer-Churchill was married twice. The second marriage bore her three children but that also ended in 1960.

Called Arabella Churchill, but on 11 April 1962, her name was legally changed back to Diana Churchill.

Diana had suffered from several nervous breakdowns. In 1962, she began working with the Samaritans, an organisation created for suicide-prevention. Then on 20th October 1963, rather ironically, she committed suicide at the age of 54 by taking an overdose of barbiturates.
*******************

Marigold Churchill was the fourth child of Clementine Hozier and Sir Winston Churchill, born only four days after the Armistace ending WWI. At age two she contracted what was reported as a cold. The illness progressed quietly, however, worsening until an apparent resultant blood infection attacked her immune system. She succumbed to illness some seven weeks before her third birthday.

Yeah, there's a lot of incest over there!

Can you explain how Churchill and his children being distant cousins of Princess Diana implies incest?

 

[JLM]

Can you explain how Churchill and his children being distant cousins of Princess Diana implies incest?

Did I neglect to use the "purple pen"? Sorry! -

 

[JLM]

This has just gotten me to thinking about many famous people with all kinds of ability and intelligence having so many f**Ked up offspring. The Churchills, Kennedys and Windsors are just a few that come to mind. Is it due to a bad gene somewhere in the line up or has it got more to do with attitude? Any ideas?

 

[talloola]

This has just gotten me to thinking about many famous people with all kinds of ability and intelligence having so many f**Ked up offspring. The Churchills, Kennedys and Windsors are just a few that come to mind. Is it due to a bad gene somewhere in the line up or has it got more to do with attitude? Any ideas?

i'm sure its no different than any other family, and the kennedys as far as i know, correct me if i'm
wrong, only had one child with a brain defect, the rest seemed highly intelligent, the one mentally
handicapped child was one of john f kennedy's sisters.
please explain who the handicapped children were in the other families.

 

[JLM]

i'm sure its no different than any other family, and the kennedys as far as i know, correct me if i'm
wrong, only had one child with a brain defect, the rest seemed highly intelligent, the one mentally
handicapped child was one of john f kennedy's sisters.
please explain who the handicapped children were in the other families.

Yeah, it could be, perhaps because of their status it gets publicized more whereas we common folks just sweep our misfits under the rug. Kennedy's sister Rosemary was a sad case, thanks to old Joe, he had her put away and given a lobotomy and kept out of sight so she wouldn't be an embarrassment to him. I was thinking more of some of the cousins of the offspring, who were social outcasts. Of course Teddy was responsible for that girl drowning and also the death of one pilot. There's a lot of interesting facts in a book "The Last Brother". Old Joe was under suspicion of being a Nazi, but whether he was or not who knows? I'm not sure if "handicapped" is quite the right word. Edward VIII was under a cloud for abdicating the throne because he married a twice divorced woman - at the time a no no with the Anglican Church.

 

[talloola]

Yeah, it could be, perhaps because of their status it gets publicized more whereas we common folks just sweep our misfits under the rug. Kennedy's sister Rosemary was a sad case, thanks to old Joe, he had her put away and given a lobotomy and kept out of sight so she wouldn't be an embarrassment to him. I was thinking more of some of the cousins of the offspring, who were social outcasts. Of course Teddy was responsible for that girl drowning and also the death of one pilot. There's a lot of interesting facts in a book "The Last Brother". Old Joe was under suspicion of being a Nazi, but whether he was or not who knows? I'm not sure if "handicapped" is quite the right word. Edward VIII was under a cloud for abdicating the throne because he married a twice divorced woman - at the time a no no with the Anglican Church.

when joe kennedy and his wife rose agreed to the lobotomy of their daughter, they were hopeful that it would
help her, the surgery did nothing of the kind, he didn't do it to get her out of his way, because she was
an embarrassment.

boy you sure hate the kennedy's, you love to make up your own colorful stories to make them look very bad,
and any books you read were most likely written by those who also hated them, have to make sure when
reading books about others, that the author is accurate and neutral in his/her opinion of those people
i am very aware of all of the happenings during the kennedy years, good, bad and normal like all of us.
old joe was not a nazi. social outcasts is an opinion. come on

 

[JLM]

when joe kennedy and his wife rose agreed to the lobotomy of their daughter, they were hopeful that it would
help her, the surgery did nothing of the kind, he didn't do it to get her out of his way, because she was
an embarrassment.

boy you sure hate the kennedy's, you love to make up your own colorful stories to make them look very bad,
and any books you read were most likely written by those who also hated them, have to make sure when
reading books about others, that the author is accurate and neutral in his/her opinion of those people
i am very aware of all of the happenings during the kennedy years, good, bad and normal like all of us.
old joe was not a nazi. social outcasts is an opinion. come on

Nope don't hate the Kennedys, just read books and watched documentaries! - For an intensive account read "The Last Brother" by Joe McGuinness. Perhaps he's lying but that's beyond my control.

 

[coldstream]

Randolph was often portrayed as the black sheep of the Churchill
family—irascible, spoiled by his father, and with a serious drinking problem.
Evelyn Waugh, who was a friend, captured the mood of many after Churchill had
had a growth removed by surgery. On hearing that the growth was not malignant,
Waugh said "It was a typical triumph of modern science to find the one part of
Randolph which was not malignant and to remove it."

Lady Mary Soames seems to have avoided much of the curse (ignoring her 3 marriages).. that befalls the children of celebrated and successful men.. who often lead tragic, ramshackle and inebriated lives.. as did her brother and sisters.

 

[talloola]

Nope don't hate the Kennedys, just read books and watched documentaries! - For an intensive account read "The Last Brother" by Joe McGuinness. Perhaps he's lying but that's beyond my control.

some of the authors don't 'right out' lie, but they embelish, and blow up the parts of lives of the people
they are writing about, so that the reader will be disappointed and surprised, and one would have to
read many different authors, then try to figure out which ones loved the kennedys, and which ones were
writing in a political frame of mind, to take the kennedys down, its not easy.

the best way to be accurate is to follow along with the knowledge that the media and authors are doing what
makes 'them' successful, and your own common sense, when putting together stories usually are closer to the
truth, 'only if' you also can truly be in a neutral frame of mind, and don't jump to conclusions just
because these people have lots of money and you don't, which seems to piss of many regular joes, same
with sports figures, they often get trashed by those who don't have their bank account.

i know both sides and the middle of the lives of the kennedy's, they did many good things in their lives,
for many 'regular and poor' people, so along with the mistakes there is much good, too bad we don't
hear balanced opinions.

 

[JLM]

some of the authors don't 'right out' lie, but they embelish, and blow up the parts of lives of the people
they are writing about, so that the reader will be disappointed and surprised, and one would have to
read many different authors, then try to figure out which ones loved the kennedys, and which ones were
writing in a political frame of mind, to take the kennedys down, its not easy.

the best way to be accurate is to follow along with the knowledge that the media and authors are doing what
makes 'them' successful, and your own common sense, when putting together stories usually are closer to the
truth, 'only if' you also can truly be in a neutral frame of mind, and don't jump to conclusions just
because these people have lots of money and you don't, which seems to piss of many regular joes, same
with sports figures, they often get trashed by those who don't have their bank account.

i know both sides and the middle of the lives of the kennedy's, they did many good things in their lives,
for many 'regular and poor' people, so along with the mistakes there is much good, too bad we don't
hear balanced opinions.

No doubt they have done their share of good, one example being Eunice started the Special Olympics as a tribute to sister Rosemary. About a year ago one Sunday on C.B.C. there was a documentary on the Kennedys and I can't remember one decent thing they said about Old Joe- he was a bootlegger, pimp and Nazi sympathiser and those were some of his better qualities. His main focus in life was that a son would be President first Joe Jr. until he was killed in W.W. II and then Jack, on the face of it there isn't much wrong with that, but the ways he went about it were a little shaky. I'm going to do a little research and see if I can find reference that documentary.


There's been a series "The Passionate Eye", one scheduled for this weekend.