University Place

Winston Churchill's American Mother

[Laurence Geller, C.B.E., Chairman, International Churchill Society]

It’s often said that history repeats itself. Mostly often, I hope, it’s not true. For I need to believe that we can learn from the lessons of history.

Winston Churchill is justifiably remembered as a great war leader. Indeed, he was. But he was much more than that. He was a statesman who used his deep knowledge of history to foresee danger and inform his actions.

After the Russian revolution, he campaigned vociferously against communism, comparing Lenin and the Bolsheviks to a plague bacillus. In the ’30s, he did all he could to warn about the dangers of revived, rearmed national socialist Germany under Hitler. At Fulton, Missouri, 1946, in March, it was Churchill who coined for popular usage the term Iron Curtain to describe Stalin’s domination of Eastern Europe.

Churchill made history through his deeds, and then wrote history with his speeches and his books. This, after all, is the man who stood up in the House of Commons after the war and said, “I believe it will be best for all parties to leave the past to history.” And I’d like to think he smiled and chuckled and said, “Especially as I propose to write that history myself.”

[laughter]

The mission of the International Churchill Society with the National Churchill Library in D.C. and the National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri, is to ensure that we learn from Churchill, from his words and from his deeds, above all from his example, so that he and the wartime generation are not relegated to a footnote of history.

I believe it is those who don’t learn from history that are doomed to repeat it. It is those like Churchill, however, that master history who can shape the future. It is that power that we must seek to pass onto our future generations. The mission statement was given to us by Churchill speaking at Harvard in 1943, when he presciently said, “The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.” How true that is today.

This afternoon, history is not repeating itself. But with Randolph and Jennie Churchill here to talk about their namesakes, and great-great-grandparents, Lord Randolph Churchill and Jennie Jerome, the parents of Sir Winston Churchill, it certainly is echoing.

Churchill did shape history, but Churchill himself was shaped by his upbringing, particularly by his beautiful and strong American mother. I suspect that if she is looking down on us, she must be extremely proud of her great grandchildren for being here today, in the land of her birth and keeping the flame alive.

Jennie and Randolph are dedicated people. They are incredibly hardworking, self-effacing, and self-sacrificing. Together, they ensure that the lessons learned from their great grandfather, Sir Winston Churchill, are not only never forgotten but foremost in the mind of all as we, and future generations must, navigate through these perilous, volatile, fragile, and fast-changing times, and sometimes, as they now are, dangerous. They have to do this because freedom-loving societies and democracies, first of all the United States and the United Case – States face – the United Kingdom, face challenges today and tomorrow, and it’s the lessons of Churchill that can help us navigate through them.

I give you Jennie, the beautiful Jennie Churchill, and the awfully handsome Randolph Churchill.

[applause]

[Randolph Churchill, Great-Grandson of Winston Churchill]

Well, what an occasion. Absolutely wonderful what’s been arranged here. And thank you so, so much for all being here. It’s a real inspiration.

[leaves podium to stand next to a standee cutout of a young Winston Churchill on the stage]

Whoever organized this wonderful cutout, I think it’s absolutely terrific.

[laughter]

I’m a bit nervous that I’m actually not quite as broad as my grandfather. They made him look very trim here.

[laughter]

But I know you’ve been looking at this wonderful photograph up here. And, of course, it’s the very famous Yousef Karsh photograph taken –

[slide titled, From Brooklyn to Blenheim and beyond, featuring a large portrait photo of Winston Churchill on the right and a smaller vignette painting of his mother to the right]

– of my great-grandfather when he spoke to the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa. And it’s got that wonderful growl and look. And then what a great portrait of Jennie Jerome. That’s one of my most treasured possessions, and it was painted by a great American artist, John Singer Sargent. So, it’s a real family treasure.

[Randolph Churchill]

It really is a delight to see so many of you here in this hall. And, inevitably, it reminds me of a story about my great grandfather, Winston.

In 1952, he asked – he was asked at a Washington press conference by a lady journalist, and he was always asked the most wonderful questions, but on this occasion the lady said, “So, Winston, doesn’t it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech the hall is packed to overflowing?” Churchill agreed that it was flattering but added, “I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big.”

[laughter]

There were many others, so many wonderful quotes. He was asked by a very aggressive lady reporter once, “What do you think the major problems are with the United States?” And he remarked, “The newspapers are too fat and the loo paper too thin.” [laughs] So, he was never short of a [quip].

But today I have very special family support in the form of my sister Jennie. And I’m very lucky we have such a close family, and it’s lovely sharing this legacy together. And she’s going to co-present with me the story of Lord Randolph and Jennie Jerome.

The talk today is in four parts, and Jennie will join me for part two. And there’s a little bit of film in the middle of what I think is one of the most remarkable moments in all our shared history.

But coming to Appleton is sort of similar to the Churchill story that my great-great-grandfather, Lord Randolph, and Appleton are, in fact, contemporaries. Both were born in the 1840s when President Polk was in the White House and Queen Victoria ruled supremely over the British Empire. We go back a long way together, and it’s been a real thrill to come up here, past the Great Lakes, and to see the beautiful cherry blossom.

Before we begin, I’d like to really thank my great friend, that irrepressible Laurence Geller from Chicago. His introduction and his tireless support as long-standing chairman of the International Churchill Society, which now boasts 45 chapters, including across many countries, and we have over 40,000 supporters, is really inspiring. And if, at the end of today, any of you want to sign up and become members of the International Churchill Society, please just look on the web. We have a wonderful society with many great events, and I’m thrilled we got a new chapter here in Wisconsin which has over 70 members, having started out earlier last year.

May I also give a heartfelt thank you to my very great friends Sandy and Monroe Trout, who have so kindly arranged our visit. We had a fantastic tour to the Trout Art Gallery this morning and enjoyed the wonderful paintings of all the young artists in the community. And it’s so important that we inspire our younger generation, and the Trouts do so much to charity to really give the youngsters the spark in the next generation.

On his very first visit to the United States in 1895, when my great-grandfather was 21 years old, he was on his way to Cuba, where he gained one new vice, which was enjoying the cigar, Winston described the level of hospitality as a revelation. Monroe and Sandy embodied the very best American quality. Their warm hearts offer a warm welcome. They are two great supporters of the Churchill cause, and from the bottom of my heart, Sandy and Monroe, thank you so much. You truly represent the very best of America.

[applause]

So, this talk will be slightly different from others you may have heard on Churchill. I am not a historian. I’m not an impartial outside observer. I am family. My own career has been in the Royal Navy, and I spent much time serving with colleagues from the United States Navy, and our family is so proud that one of your great destroyers is the U.S.S. Winston S. Churchill. And she’s served your nation so proudly. And you’re very brave because the navigator of that ship is always a Royal Naval officer.

[laughter]

For a time, I lived in New York, and I proposed there 27 years ago to my bride Catherine. And I was a little bit of a cheapskate because I proposed on a ride that cost a quarter, and that was on the Staten Island Ferry.

[laughter]

I did not know my famous great-grandfather, as I was only two days old when he died. And, for me, that link with history, the fact that the next generation was coming in as he died, is something which I love and cherish.

As you all know, my great-grandfather believed in his fates and his destiny. He said, “We are all worms, but I do believe I am a glow one.”

[laughter]

And it’s quite remarkable that he lived to well over 90 years old and that he drew so much strength and inspiration from so many people, but particularly those in the United States.

I was brought up and surrounded by many of his treasured belongings and by those who knew him best. I now live just a stone’s throw from his beloved home at Chartwell in Kent. And since my father’s death, I’ve become patron of many of the Churchill organization’s charities. And we do things like school debating competitions, design competitions. It’s so important to inspire the younger generation to really learn history at first time. So, my perspective is unique as family. And it’s a real thrill that you are taking up your time to join us today.

America has always been special to Churchills. Some of us proposed here. Others were born here. And today we’re putting the spotlight on Churchill’s extraordinary mother, Jennie Jerome of Brooklyn, New York. The woman who became Lady Randolph Churchill. A passionate, vital, and dynamic personality, she launched Churchill’s career over four decades before what we now call Churchill’s finest hour.

And here’s a wonderful photograph of Jennie with young Winston –

[slide titled, The influence of Winston Churchills mother, featuring a portrait photograph of young Lady Jennie Churchill and her two young sons, Jack on the left and Winston on the right]

– on the right and his younger brother, Jack on the left. She really was one of the most beautiful and striking women of the day.

[new slide titled, Half American by birth; Honorary U.S. citizen, with a portrait photo of Winston Churchill when he was Prime Minister]

And there is Churchill. The image you all so clearly recognize. It is impossible for my generation to comprehend the scale of sacrifice that was made in securing victory, not just in one, but two World Wars.

Churchill became prime minister –

[Randolph Churchill]

– after the policies of Neville Chamberlain failed. Appeasement, which Churchill referred to as, and the younger generation should really remember this, I’m going to repeat it, appeasement, which Churchill referred to as “one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last.”

[laughter]

May have been born of a desire to avoid another war, but, in the end, it had given Hitler all he needed to dominate Europe. Churchill later reflected, “I saw it all coming and cried aloud to my own fellow countrymen and to the world, but no one paid any attention.”

Churchill became prime minister on the 10th of May 1940. He noted in his memoirs, “I felt as if I were walking with destiny and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.

On the very day that Churchill took office, Hitler invaded France and the low countries. Within weeks, Paris had fallen, and the French had surrendered. No one foresaw such a colossal military defeat. A French general had the audacity to say, “Britain would be next, like having its neck wrung.” And Churchill exclaimed, “Some chicken, some neck.”

[laughter]

If it had not been for the miracle of Dunkirk and the extraordinary evacuation by the Royal Navy and the flotilla of privately owned small ships which totaled over 800, we might have lost the entire fight in strength of the British expeditionary force. Over 338,000 soldiers were rescued over eight days to enable us to fight another day. I must say in this beautiful, Christian Hall here, it makes you realize how lucky we were to receive our salvation because if we’d lost those soldiers or they’d been captured, there would have been no victory.

Churchill’s first speech as prime minister on the 13th of May 1940, showed his determination to lead from the front and put heart back into the nation. He said, You asked, what is our aim?
I can answer in one word, Victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terror. Victory however long and hard the road may be. For without victory, there is no survival.”

And he went on, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. Britain was alone in Europe. Supported by her empire, she resolutely endured the blitz of the Nazi onslaught until the Germans invaded the Soviet Union. And this is a good thing for the younger generation to note. As Churchill said, “Hitler forgot about this Russian winter. He must have been very loosely educated. We all heard about it at school. But he forgot it. I have never made such a bad mistake as that. Because all know that Napoleon also failed in the same cause.

Japan decisively changed the course of the war with its attack in December 1941 on Pearl Harbor. Churchill knew at that moment that the Great Republic, that’s what he called your country, the Great Republic, and you remain that to this day, would come to the liberation of the old world and their mother country. And he felt that the result could not now be in doubt.

Churchill forged an enduring relationship with your great president, Roosevelt. Roosevelt, who on being elected for his third term as president, on his inauguration day, in January 1941, writes Churchill a beautiful handwritten letter. And he writes the lines quoting your poet, Longfellow.

“Sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathlessly on thy fate!”

Can you imagine what that meant to Winston when Britain was alone, and we were trying to defend ourselves? That meant so much. And your president was trying to give Churchill the opportunity to speak to the American people over the radio. And Churchill replied on the radio to the American people with one of his most remarkable speeches, which ends, “Give us the tools and we will finish the job.”

Before we turn to Jennie’s influence on Churchill’s life, I wanted to set in context the challenges the Winston had. And it might be struggling for any students who are aspiring to great things to know that Churchill was at the bottom class of school for four years. So, when he was 16, he was still in the class with 12-year-olds.

He failed three times to get into Sandhurst. So, he only got there on his third attempt. And here I’m going to put up on screen one of his school reports. Now, I will read part of what it says –

[slide featuring a photo of Winston Churchills report card from the late 1800s]

– but Churchill’s parents saw few signs of greatness in their son. He rebelled against authority. He refused conventional learning and was always in trouble. One of his reports said he was only consistent in his inconsistency.

[laughter]

He was beaten on numerous occasions, and I’m glad to say –

[Randolph Churchill]

– to no effect.

In August 1893, when he was 19 years old, it’s rather tragic this, but he received a letter from his father, which I don’t think any parent would dare send their children now days. But his father wrote to him saying, “My dear Winston, I am rather surprised at your tone of exaltation of your inclusion in the Sandhurst list. There are two ways of winning an examination – one creditably, the other reverse. You have unfortunately chosen the latter method and appear to be much pleased with your success. The first extremely discreditably feature of your performance was missing the infantry. It was always frowned upon to go into the Calvary because it cost extra money maintaining a horse.

For in that failure is demonstrated beyond refutation your slovenly, happy-go-lucky, harum-scarum style of work for which you’ve always been distinguished at your different schools. Never have I received a really good report of your conduct in your work from any master or tutor you’ve had from time-to-time to deal with. Always behind hand. Always late. Never advancing in your class. Incessant complaints of total want of application. And this character which was constant in your reports has shown the natural results in your last army examination.”

Wow.

Well, sadly, Lord Randolph died the following year when Winston was 20 years old. And so, Churchill assumed the mantle of responsibility, and I think it is sad that his father thought that his son was going to be just one of those useless upper-class wastrels.

But Churchill, becoming head of the family at the age of 20, with responsibilities, turned a new chapter.

And here he is in his uniform of the 4th Hussars. Churchill rose to the challenge of being head of the family.

[slide titled, A Man of Action, featuring a portrait photo of Winston ins his dress uniform for the 4th Hussars]

He made his name as a brave soldier and daring war correspondent. He saw his first action in Cuba where, on his 21st birthday, he retorted that there was nothing so excited as being shot at with no effect.

[laughter]

[Randolph Churchill]

In India, he not only won the regimental polo tournament, but he fought up on the northwest frontier and came under fire on very many occasions. And then, in Africa, he fought on two occasions.

I find it extraordinary we think time is moving and technology is moving so quickly now, but my great-grandfather lived to 1965, and when you think that he lived to see the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin in 1961, and that in 1898 my great-grandfather charged on a horse at the Battle of Omdurman with soldiers that carried spears, it really is terrifying how time has changed and moved on.

He would be so proud today that American, Canadian, Australian, British forces today are still serving in so many areas, sorting out the troubled hot spots. Our family is so proud of what the U.S. military and the British services do in trying to do their best to make a better world. And it’s extraordinary that we’re still trying to make a better world in the places where Churchill served in so many years ago.

In the First World War, which initially was a complete disaster for my great-grandfather, at Gallipoli, where Churchill is First Lord of Admiralty, he tried to open a new front away from the barbed wire and the trenches of the western front. He hated the fact that these soldiers were being mowed down my machine gun and no progress was made, and millions of lives were being thrown away. And thus, with the disaster at Gallipoli, which failed to open up a new front, he resigned from government, and he went to serve on the front line with the soldiers in Belgium. I can’t think of any government minister in Britain or anywhere else in the world who after a debacle would go and serve with the forces themselves.

Churchill, during that time, led soldiers bravely, and he did no less than 30 raids into No Man’s Land. And of you who’ve been to Chartwell will see his little trench lamp, which he was holding which got destroyed by shrapnel which must of missed his hand by nothing. He always believed in his destiny, and that’s why he won the support of so many soldiers and people who believed in him.

Like your great president, Abraham Lincoln, Churchill was a man of words.

[slide titled, and a Man of Words, featuring a photo of Winston Churchill giving a speech in front of a wall hanging featuring a portrait of Abraham Lincoln]

And on the 9th of April 1963, one of the proudest moments in our family, my great-grandfather was bestowed with the very first honorary American citizen. President Kennedy, quoting famously the great reporter Ed Murrow, proclaimed that Winston had mobilized the English language and sent it into battle. Honorary American citizenship is one of our most treasured family things we have at Chartwell –

[Randolph Churchill]

– and it’s a wonderful reminder of our American heritage. I’m now going to play a five-minute clip of what I think is one of the greatest moments in history, and it’s when my great-grandfather was invited to the White House in December 1941 to address a joint session of Congress.

[slide titled, Speech to Joint Houses of Congress, featuring a newsreel of Winston Churchills speech to the U.S. Congress in January of 1942 titled, Now We Are Masters of Our Own Fate]

[music from video playing]

[cheers and applause]

[Winston Churchill, at the podium before Congress]

The fact that my American forbearers have for so many generations played their part in the life of the United States, and that here I am, an Englishman, welcomed in your midst, makes this experience one of the most moving and thrilling in my life, which is already long and has not been entirely uneventful.

[laughter]

I wish – I wish indeed, that my mother, whose memory I cherish, across the vail of years, could have been here to see.

By the way, I cannot help reflecting that if my father had been American and my mother British instead of the other way around, I might have got here on my own.

[laughter and applause]

[Winston Churchill]

Sure, I am that this day, now, we are the masters of our fate. That the task which has been set us is not above our strength. That its pangs and toils are not beyond our endurance. As long as we have faith in our cause, and an unconquerable willpower, salvation will not be denied us. In the words of the Psalmist – “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings. His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.”

Not all the tidings will be evil. On the contrary, mighty strokes of war have already been dealt against the enemy, the glorious defense of their native soil by the Russian armies and people.

[applause]

Wounds have been inflicted upon the Nazi tyranny and the system which have bitten deep and will fester and inflame not only in the Nazi body but in the Nazi mind. The boastful Mussolini –

[laughter]

– has crumpled already. He is now but a lackey and a serf, the merest utensil of his master’s will.

[laughter]

[applause]

[Winston Churchill]

Many people have been astonished that Japan should in a single day have plunged into war against the United States and the British Empire. What kind of a people do they think we are? Is it possible that they do not realize that we shall never cease to persevere against them until they have been taught a lesson which they and the world will never forget?

[applause]

Here we are, together, facing a group of mighty foes who seek our ruin. Here we are, together, defending all that to free men is dear. Twice in a single generation the catastrophe of world war has fallen upon us. Twice in our lifetime has the long arm of fate reached out across the oceans to bring the United States into the forefront of the battle.

If we had kept together after the last war, if we had taken common measures for our safety, this renewal of the curse need never have fallen upon us.

[applause]

Do we not owe it to ourselves, to our children, to tormented mankind, to make sure that these catastrophes do not engulf us for the third time? It is not given to us to peer into the mysteries of the future. Still, I avow my hope and faith, sure and inviolate, that in the days to come the British and American peoples will, for their own safety and for the good of all, walk together in majesty, in justice, and in peace.

[cheers and applause]

[End of newsreel]

[Randolph Churchill]

Quite wonderful and what a moment in history that was that there he is speaking in the greatest parliament in his mother’s land.

So, let’s turn to the currents of fate that led to young Lord Randolph –

[slide featuring a portrait painting of Lord Randolph Churchill, Winston Churchills father]

– meeting Jennie Jerome in 1873 in Cowes in the Isle of Wight on the south coast of England, where Queen Victoria spent much time at her palace of Osborne.

I should point out that the Isle of Wight, in the 1700s, was the shipping equivalent of Chicago Airport. So many of your ancestors would have passed through the island to travel to the New World.

I will now ask my sister, Jennie, to join me, for what better way to tell the love story of Randolph and Jennie than in their own words, from their own letters. And, of course, I will play Randolph and my sister will play Jennie. So, forgive us, this is Randolph and Jennie as Randolph and Jennie.

[laughter]

So, 144 years ago in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, a beautiful American girl and a young British aristocrat met by chance. Randolph Churchill was the youngest son of the Duke of Marlborough. 19-year-old Jennie Jerome from Brooklyn, having been from a family of early settlers to the Great Lakes, who then resided in Rochester, New York, had been living with her mother and sisters in Paris.

Without their meeting on the Isle of Wight, there would have been no Winston Churchill. Without that meeting Lord Rand – of Randolph and Jennie, it may well be that many of us here in this hall today would not be here today.

But what is undeniably true is that my sister Jennie and I would definitely not be here.

[laughter]

[Jennie Churchill, great-granddaughter of Winston Churchill]
Leonard Jerome, Jennie’s flamboyant father, knew the Isle of Wight well. His ancestors were first on the island in 1710, either as islanders or fleeing from France as French Protestant Huguenots.

Leonard returned and was one of the conspirators at the Union Club in New York in 1866 when a bet –

[slide titled, Jennie (1854-1821) – Lady Randolph Churchill, featuring a black and white portrait photo of Jennie Churchill]

– had been placed of which Leonard was the guardian for the first race across the Atlantic that December, known as the world’s first ocean race.

In the dramatic race, the Henrietta arrived at Cowes on Christmas day. Having covered up to 280 miles a day, she scooped the prize of $90,000 wagered between the three owners.

In 1871, 1872, and 1873, Leonard Jerome rented villas in Cowes for his family.

Having been presented to the prince and princess of Wales in 1873, Jennie, her sisters, and mother were invited to a dance at the invitation of Queen Victoria’s son, the Prince of Wales, on the Cowes Guard Ship, H.M.S. Ariadne, on the 12th of August 1873.

[Randolph Churchill]

Jennie was 19 and Randolph was 24. Randolph arrived on board the Ariadne from the royal yacht squadron steps to see Jennie and her sister, Clarita, talking in a merry group of people.

Both were dressed in tulle dresses decorated with fresh flowers. Randolph arranged an introduction. He asked Jennie to dance, a quadrille, of which he was unsure of the steps. Afterwards, they sat out and talked, sipping champagne. Randolph was captivated by the gray-eyed, beautiful Jennie, and she in turn was captivated by the young aristocrat. It was love at first sight.

[Jennie Churchill]

Jennie persuaded her mother to invite Randolph to dinner at their rented villa, Rosetta. Randolph was delighted to accept. The dinner was a success. The night was beautiful. Afterwards, Jennie told Clara that she had a presentiment – this was the man she would marry. Many years later, Jennie recorded that they had spent a very pleasant evening, my sister and I, playing duets at the piano and chatting merrily.

[Randolph Churchill]

After they left, Randolph confided to his friend, Carl Edgecombe, that he would like to make the dark one his wife.

[Jennie Churchill]

Jennie and Randolph met the next day by accident when she took her daily walk along Cowes Esplanade and he walked his pug dog, Puggles. Mrs. Jerome refused to let Jennie invite Randolph to dinner, but as the following day was Randolph’s last, she relented. Randolph received a calling card from Mrs. Jerome and the Ms. Jeromes. “I shall be most happy to see you at dinner this evening, truly yours, C.H. Jerome.”

[slide titled, To Meet Randolph, featuring a photo of the calling card that Randolph Churchill received from Mrs. Jerome and her daughters]

It was a bewitching evening at – at Villa Rosetta.

Jennie played the piano and later described Randolph’s proposal to her at this –

[Jennie Churchill]

– their third meeting. She wrote that she and Randolph had walked in the garden. “When finding ourselves alone for a moment, he asked me to marry him and I said yes.” We agreed not to say anything to my mother, as she would not understand the suddenness of it.

[laughter]

They were engaged to be married within two days of meeting.

[Randolph Churchill]

Randolph was meant to leave the following morning but postponed his trip, sending Jennie this note. “Dear Ms. Jeanette, I missed my boat, and I’ve not been able to go. So shall not start till early Monday morning. Thank you so very much for the photograph, which is much better than the others. Shall hope to see you after church tomorrow. You see, I keep turning up like a bad shilling.”

[laughter]

Randolph kept his invitation card for that first dinner in a black metal box amongst his most treasured possessions for the rest of his life.

And we still, at the Churchill Archives in Cambridge, we have both invitations –

[return to the, To meet Randolph, slide]

– that both Jennie and Randolph kept that evening.

[Jennie Churchill]

Jennie also kept her invitation to the dance on H.M.S. Ariadne and marked it up To meet Randolph.

[Randolph Churchill]

Although the pair were in love, they agreed that for the time being it must remain a secret. Randolph delayed his departure by another four days.

[laughter]

This is a lovely photograph of the engaged couple at Blenheim.

[slide titled, The Engaged Couple, featuring a portrait photograph of Jennie Jerome and Lord Randolph Churchill]

[Jennie Churchill]

Before Randolph left, Jennie told her mother about the engagement. She was not pleased.

[laughter]

She believed that a second son, like Randolph, was not much of a catch. Mrs. Jerome said she could never agree to anything so precipitous. Jennie wrote to her father in New York saying she was engaged. He replied say, “Provided always he is not a Frenchman or any of those continental cusses.”

[laughter]

Jennie wrote to Randolph that same evening. “I cannot bear to have you leave Cowes, dearest, without a last goodbye. I have told Mama, who, although she likes you very much, won’t hear of it. But I am sure we shall easy get her on our side later on when we see you in London or perhaps here. God bless you, darling.”

[Randolph Churchill]

Randolph wrote to Jennie the next morning telling her how her note had cheered him up wonderfully. “I cannot think,” he continued, your mother will really not hear of our engagement. Only I’m sure she thinks we have known each other for too short a time. You and I do not think so, but it’s natural your mother should.” He would miss her, he added, and would visit her in London.

[Jennie Churchill]

There was further upset when Randolph told his mother at Blenheim Palace. The Duchess of Marlborough, formerly Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane, third daughter of the third Marquees of Londonderry, was a commanding woman with great character. She was upset that Randolph, her second son and favorite, should have done anything so contrary to her own ambitions for him. The idea of marrying an American was in and of itself immensely displeasing. And for him to contemplate doing such a thing after such a short acquaintance was folly.

[Randolph Churchill]

Despite his mother’s displeasure, Randolph was deeply committed to his intended bride. Mrs. Jerome had forbidden Jennie to correspond with him, but Randolph wrote passionately from Blenheim. By the second day of separation, he was miserable and missing her.

“My own darling Jeanette, I cannot let another day pass without writing to you. I do not think I’ve ever had such a day as yesterday. Such a melancholy journey away from you. And then to have to listen to the twaddle and gossip of my mother and sisters when my heart and thoughts were elsewhere.”

It is so curious that my rooms and my things and my occupation here, which I used to take interest in, are quite hateful now. All I can do is to keep reading your letter and looking at your photographs and thinking till I get quite stupid. I do not think, dearest, you have any idea how much I love you or what sacrifices I would not make to call you my own. My whole life and energies should be devoted to making you happy and protecting you from harm or wrong. Life should be, to you, like one long summer day.”

Randolph then wrote to his father. “I do not think that I if were to write pages I could give you any idea of the strength of my feeling and affections and love for her. All I can say is I love her better than life itself and that my one hope and dream now is that matters may be so arranged that soon I may be united to her by ties that nothing but death itself could have the power to sever.”

He understood that his father might be very much surprised but added that despite the rapidity of his decision it was one in which he believed absolutely.

[Jennie Churchill]

The Duke of Marlborough, unconvinced by Randolph’s letter, made inquiries about Leonard Jerome. Initially, he opposed the marriage, writing – “Never was there such an illustration of the adage ‘love is blind.’ For you seem blind to all consequences in order that you may pursue your passion.”

Matters went from bad to worse. On hearing of the Duke’s opposition, Leonard, in New York, went into a rage and wrote, “My consent withdrawn.”

European aristocracy impressed Leonard less than they impressed themselves. Meanwhile, a chill descended on Blenheim. What exactly were Americans, rebels against the British crown? And did one marry them? But Randolph wore the Duke down. First the ceremony was to be delayed for a year. Then only until after the general election in February 1874. Randolph duly became M.P. for Woodstock, and Jennie became Lady Randolph Churchill at a ceremony at the British Embassy in Paris on the 15th of April 1874, where almost no family attended. Winston was born on the 30th of November that year at Blenheim Palace.

[Randolph Churchill]

Here we go to Blenheim Palace. To quote their son, my great grandfather –

[slide titled, Blenheim Palace – Gift from the nation to John Churchill, First Duke of Marlborough, featuring a photo of the exterior of Blenheim Palace in the 1800s]

– Churchill said, “Where does the family start? It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl. No superior alternative has yet been found.”

And at this point, Jennie will stand down, and I will carry on. So, well done, Jennie. Thank you.

[applause]

[Randolph Churchill]

Thank you.

So, here we have Jennie in her hunting outfit at Blenheim Palace.

[slide titled, Lady Randolph Churchill (nee Jennie Jerome) 1854-1921, featuring a portrait photo of Lady Jennie Churchill in her hunting outfit]

And, of course, she was a fantastic rider. She learnt in Rochester in upstate New York.

And we’re now going to look at Jennie’s ancestry. And I’m thrilled today that we actually have some Jerome cousins here. Leonard Jerome was one of nine sons.

[Randolph Churchill]

And so, there are plenty of Jeromes in the United States. And I’m always thrilled to meet our American cousins. The Jennie Jerome that Lord Randolph met was strikingly beautiful, and I don’t think anybody can deny that. And captivated. She spoke six languages fluently. And she was a concert pianist, learning from one of the students of Chopin. She could ride as well as any man, and she was hugely talented.

So, turning to Jennie’s father, Leonard Jerome. There’s a lovely drawing of him.

[slide titled, Leonard Jerome, 1817-1891, featuring a portrait drawing of Lady Jennie Churchills father]

And here I have in my drawing room at home –

[new slide titled, Leonard Jerome, featuring a middle-aged portrait painting of Leonard Jerome, Lady Churchills father]

– a wonderful painting of Leonard.

Leonard was born in 1818 on a farm near Syracuse in New York. He was descended from well-to-do pioneering stock, but there was no money. He was the fifth of eight brothers and one sister. Leonard was a young man who learned to live by his own achievements.

[Randolph Churchill]

His four elder brothers went to Princeton, and then the money ran out. So, Leonard ran the village store on a dollar a week. When his elder brother had made some money, Leonard had – went to Princeton for one year. And it’s said, “With nothing, save a brave heart and a keen brain.” Leonard was a supremely intelligent man with a great wit. And we all know where that went to.

[laughter]

He had huge sporting prowess, and he played the violin and sang too beautifully. Many of these talents were passed onto his daughter, Jennie, and then onto his grandson. Leonard believed passionately in his daughter’s abilities and talents, as would Jennie in her own son.

Leonard came from a long line of pioneering ancestors. Timothy Jerome was the first to become American and came and settled in the United States in 1717. It’s through Leonard that Churchill, who was extremely proud of his revolutionary blood, claimed at least two forbearers who had fought against the British in the American War of Independence, and not one ancestor who fought for the British.

[laughter]

Very important to be fighting on the right side.

One of Leonard’s great-grandfathers, Samuel Jerome, served in the Berkshire County Militia, while another major Lebbeus Ball was in the 4th Massachusetts Regiment, marched and fought with George Washington at Valley Forge. And I proudly look after my great-grandfather’s Cincinnati Medal which is awarded to those who had ancestors who fought alongside George Washington.

Leonard Jerome’s maternal grandfather, Reuben Murray, served as lieutenant in the Connecticut and New York regiments as well. So, we are very good colonialists and very good revolutionaries.

[laughter]

Turning to Leonard’s wife, Clara.

[slide titled, Clara Jerome (nee Hall) 1825-1895, featuring a portrait drawing of Lady Jennie Churchills mother]

This is a lovely drawing of her. And then I have this portrait at home of Clara.

[slide titled, Clara Jerome, featuring a portrait painting of Lady Churchills mother]

Clara was one of two orphan sisters. And she married Leonard in 1849. It is reputedly through Clara’s family of her great-grandmother that, in fact, she is descended from Iroquois Indian. And you can see the oval face and features. And it allowed my great-grandfather to respond to President Roosevelt, who told Winston –

[Randolph Churchill]

– of his early Dutch origins, to which he turned around to the President and said, “Mr. President, my ancestors were here to greet yours.”

[laughter]

In the family, this is well written about, but Clara’s aunts in the family, their nicknames were Sitting Bull and Hatchet.

[laughter]

Modern scholarship tells us that they do not believe that we do have the American indigenous blood. But my great-grandfather always believed it, and he always thought that brought him great luck. And what we certainly do have is very strong North American pedigree, and Churchill was always very proud of that.

[slide titled, Jennies place of birth – 426 Henry Street, Brooklyn, featuring an exterior photo of the building on Henry Street where Winstons mother was born]

So, this is the house where Jennie Jerome was born in New York, at 426 Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights. Leonard and Clara had four daughters, one of whom died aged eight. Jennie, their second daughter, was born on the 9th of January 1854 –

[Randolph Churchill]

– and grew up watching the Statue of Liberty built – being built across the water in the cobble hill section of Brooklyn.

Leonard, in fact, is buried in the great cemetery where the British lost the War of Independence and allowed George Washington to escape. So, I think the credentials are very strong there.

Jennie’s parents had recently returned when she was born from Trieste, the Mediterranean port where Leonard had been the American chief consul. But his wife, Clara, had been captivated by the grand European court, but Leonard much preferred New York and America and he had to return to rescue the family’s stockbroking business.

Leonard became a great railway king of Wall Street.

And Jennie and her older sister, Clara, adored their affectionate and generous father who often appeared laden with gifts. The young Jennie would spend her summers with the family in Newport, where Leonard kept his racing yacht and commuted to New York.

Leonard left his young family in Paris where Clara wanted to be, and, in 1860, he built himself the most incredible mansion in Madison Square which, tragically, was knocked down in the 1960s.

[slide titled, Jerome mansion – Madison and 26th Street, featuring an exterior photograph of the Jerome mansion where Lady Churchill grew up, taken in the early 20th century]

The mansion had magnificent stables for his 50 horses and carriages he kept in New York. And he had a full-sized theater that could seat 300, and that’s on Madison Square. So, when Jennie and her family returned from Paris, they returned not to Brooklyn but to Manhattan.

[Randolph Churchill]

Leonard now owned the New York Times, and together with his business partner, they founded the New York Jockey Club. Leonard purchased 230 acres outside New York City, in what is now the Bronx, to build Jerome – Jerome Racecourse. Jennie attended the first meeting at Jerome Park in 1866.

Not only was Leonard heavily involved with horse racing, but he was a prominent member of the New York Yacht Club. And having been one of the conspirators at the Union Club, he is the person who founded the world’s first ocean race. That race is about to be challenged again in Bermuda for the America’s Cup.

Leonard’s wife, Clara, was captivated by the European societies and returned to Paris with her daughters. Leonard returned with them by sea and then returned to New York. The daughters did lots of language studies. They’d learnt the piano, and life for the wealthy was centered around the extraordinary court of Emperor Louis-Napoleon III, the great-nephew of Napoleon, and Empress Eugenie.

Clara was welcomed to the Royal Court in 1869, but this carefree environment came to an end when the French went to war against the Prussians and lost. And Jennie, with her mother, had to flee Paris and go to Brighton.

They returned to see Paris in ruins and a much darker side of life.

In 1873, therefore, Clara took her daughters to the Isle of Wight. And, in fact, at that time, Leonard was pretty much bankrupt. He had lost so much in the huge financial losses on Wall Street of the state sponsored railways, which was basically the nationalization of the railways that he’d put so much money. I’m now going to shine a spotlight on Jennie’s great achievement.

[slide titled, Leonard taking guests to Jerome Park, featuring the book cover of The Fabulous Leonard Jerome, a biography of Lady Churchills father which itself features a painting of Lady Churchills father taking aristocrats on a carriage ride in New York]

And this is Leonard and his carriage. He made quite a spectacle.

[new slide titled, Jerome Park, featuring a drawing of the horse races at Jerome Park]

And this is the racing at Jerome Park. And if only now we still owned the 230 acres at the Bronx, the family finances might be a little bit more prosperous.

[laughter]

[new slide titled, Jennie, Clarita and Leonie in Paris, featuring a portrait photograph of Lady Churchill and her two sisters]

And there are the three daughters in Paris.

[new slide titled, Winston as a Page Boy, featuring a photo of a young Winston as a page boy]

Jennie gave birth to Winston on the 30th of November 1874. Jennie already stood out, not only because of her beauty, talent, and natural intelligence, but also because she had no interest in snobbery and traditions, two qualities that served her well all her life.

[Randolph Churchill]

The family had a row with the Prince of Wales, and they were all banished, including the Marlboroughs, to Ireland. And the Duke of Marlborough was made viceroy of Ireland. And it wasn’t a happy time in Ireland. There was lots of suffering famine, and Jennie and Randolph threw themselves in to raising money for soup kitchens and looking after the poor and deprived. And Lord Randolph stood up in parliament and castigated the neglectful British landlords who gave nothing back to the Irish people.

Jennie, against official approval, visited prisoners imprisoned in Dublin. This is in the 1870s. Quite extraordinary. And she campaigned to improve their conditions. With Lord Randolph’s parents, they raised money to help relieve poverty, and Queen Victoria even gave them money. I would argue that Jennie’s care and compassion cascaded down to her son, Winston.

Jennie, like her husband Randolph, was fearless of authority and they did what they believed was right, something Churchill was never unsteady about.

As a mother in an era where children were cared for by others until they were presentable, Jennie might be thought distant from young Winston. He was brought up by his devoted nanny, Mrs. Everest. But, in fact, Jennie would always help him. And when she discovered he’d been beaten, she wasted no time in removing him from school.

Jennie became young Winston’s greatest advocate on the death of Lord Randolph. She was at the center of British political elite. She had her salon. The prime minister and many members of government would come and visit her court. And she was a total magnet. She was really frowned upon by British women because of her talent and the way she could captivate people. So, when Churchill looked for his commission in the army, it was Jennie who got him his first commission in the 4th Hussars.

It was also through Jennie that she armed Winston with his great American connections and through her great friend, Bourke Cockran, that Churchill was first introduced to New York society. Churchill said at that time that he was – disliked the dollar bill and the vulgar newspapers. But Jennie’s introductions to Winston in the United States lasted with him his whole lifetime, and one cannot doubt the importance of those friends who made it so good that Winston had the best connections.

This is Winston as a young man in his 4th Hussars uniform. So, Churchill –

[slide titled, Winston – Fourth Hussar, featuring a portrait photo of a college-aged Winston Churchill in his Hussar dress uniform]

– like his Jerome grandfather, was a buccaneer and akin to make a name for himself. Jennie was his literary agent whilst he was in the army, gaining him contracts with publishers, proofreading. He was the highest paid journalist of his generation.

Churchill bored of regimental life in India, and he determined to see action elsewhere. And it was his mother Jennie who enabled him to go to the Sudan with –

[Randolph Churchill]

– General Kitchener to avenge the death of Lord – Lord Gordon.

Churchill did not ingratiate himself with Kitchener because he’d written, critically, as a young man about the generals in the British army and how they didn’t respond to change. So, Kitchener forbade him to attend. But Churchill went on the campaign, and he was allowed to go there at his own expense.

Needless to say, he turned up on a white charger and oversaw a good part of the Battle of Omdurman and delivered his own report to Kitchener, which made him doubly unpopular.

Churchill remarked of his mother – I think these words are charming – “She left no wire unpulled, no stone unturned, no cutlet uncooked.”

[laughter]

The year after, on demand, Churchill was sent as a journalist to South Africa for the confrontation against the Dutch settlers known as the Boer War. This was a very unpopular war in America. But Jennie had both her sons going to South Africa, and she refused to be idle. And amongst her American friends, she organized what I think is the first hospital ship to have gone to a conflict to have helped soldiers.

And the next image, in the middle you have Jennie Jerome –

[slide titled, On board the S.S. Maine, featuring a photo of the nurses along with Lady Churchill on the hospital ship on which Lady Churchill worked during the Boer War]

– running the hospital ship that she’d set up and funded and was one of the sisters herself.

Unfortunately, brother Jack was entrusted to Winston, and –

[new slide titled, With her injured son, featuring a photo of Lady Churchill and her son, Jack, on board the hospital ship]

– on his first day in action, Jack gets shot through the leg and is the first victim treated on board the hospital ship.

[murmuring]

Indeed, Jennie’s work in South Africa campaign was so admired by the soldiers – this is a tribute from the soldiers there – that a huge cannon –

[Randolph Churchill]

– involved in the Siege of Ladysmith was named the Lady Randolph.

And look. What a magnificent gun.

[slide titled, An explosive namesake, featuring a photo of the cannon Lady Randolph on a railway track]

She must have been so proud to have had that gun named after her.

[laughter]

Extraordinarily, during the First World War –

[Randolph Churchill]

– Jennie repeated the first role. She persuaded her friend, Mr. Paris Singer, of the famous sewing machine company, to offer his residence, Oldway House in Devon, as a hospital. It was turned into a 255-bed hospital with operating room. Throwing herself into raising money for the American Women’s War Relief Fund to finance the hospital, Jennie became chairman of the executive committee with Mr. Paris Singer as her vice chairman.

That’s quite telling, isn’t it?

There was a staff of 151, which included eight surgeons, 15 American nurses, 17 English sisters – sisters, and 21 probationers.

There is no doubt that Churchill inherited his literary and political skills largely from his mother’s line. Jennie published many articles, edited a wonderful transatlantic publication called “The Anglo-Saxon Review,” and she also wrote and put on plays.

Though she could not stand for Parliament or even vote until after 1918, there is no doubting her power on the political stage. Initially, she was more famous than her son and her late husband. She personally canvased for her husband, Lord Randolph, in Woodstock in the 1880s, and then helped her son, Winston, win his first Parliamentary seat in the deprived constituents of Oldham. And her she is –

[slide titled, Jennie canvassing in 1900, featuring a photo of Lady Churchill standing next to her son, Winston, at a campaign rally]

– standing up whilst Winston makes a speech, supporting him every inch of the way. A remarkable lady.

Jennie remained vital to the political careers of both husband and son. She remained an incredible beauty for all her life, later marrying George Cornwallis-West and then Montagu Porch. When Montagu Porch –

[Randolph Churchill]

– was 64 years old and Jennie – Sorry, marrying Montagu Porch when she was 64 and Porch was 42 years of age. This caused some surprise with Winston, who was a year younger than his stepfather.

[laughter]

This is the banner from the play that she wrote and put on –

[slide titled, Playwright, featuring a photo of the playbill from His Borrowed Plumes, a play written by Lady Churchill and performed at the Hicks Theatre on Londons West End]

– in the west end of London, all by herself, and it went on to for quite a few weeks.

[new slide titled, Lady Churchill was U.S. best Ambassador, featuring a photo of the obituary of Lady Churchill from and English newspaper]

This is Jennie’s obituary in the London papers at the end of her life. Wonderful tribute, calling her an ambassador for America in London.

[new slide titled, Jennies medals, featuring a photo of the medals that Lady Churchill gained from the Crown for her work for England]

Jennie was honored by Queen Victoria and Edward VII with five medals. The first, the pearl and turquoise ci-cipher, was awarded to Jennie in recognition for her work for destitute women and was the insignia of the Order of the Imperial Crown of India. Queen Victoria’s empress of India pinned the medal on Jennie’s left shoulder on the 4th of December 1885, sticking the pin into Jennie’s flesh.

[laughter]

[Randolph Churchill]

The second medal was awarded to Jennie by Queen Victoria for her services on the American hospital ship, The Maine, during the Boer War. The next one was conferred to Jennie by Edward VII and was for the Lady Grace of Sir John of Jerusalem for her work in helping those injured.

[return to the Jennies medals slide]

The next medal was the Order of the Royal Red Cross, presented by Edward VII. And the fourth and fifth were coronation medals, and on both coronations, Jennie was in the King’s box.

[Randolph Churchill]

Jennie represents so much of what has made your country great. She had a zest and determination for life –

[slide titled, Jennie by John Singer Sargent, featuring a portrait painting of Winstons mother, Lady Churchill by the artist John Singer Sargent]

– and success. She was passionate about caring for the disadvantaged and the suffering. She was a woman of actions. She did not care for social snobbery, and she was not shy about entering the political fray.

But her greatest trait was the spirit of freedom and liberation pioneered by the early Americans.

It is not surprising that her father was a king of Wall Street, and her ancestors were fighters for independence.

In the modern world, there are no more important documents for freedom and liberty than the British Magna Carta of 1215 and the Declaration of Independence of 1776. Churchill deliberately linked them in his last great multi-volume work, “The History of the English-Speaking Peoples. 2015 was the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta but also the 50th anniversary of my great-grandfather’s death and the 75th of his finest hour.

It is strange to think that without the birth of Jennie Jerome in Brooklyn, the shrines of our hard – hard-earned freedoms might have been trampled underfoot by nauseum and that we might still be living in the abyss of a new dark age.

In the autumn of 2015, our family were immensely proud when Churchill’s bust was unveiled in Statuary Hall at United States Capitol. The Secretary of State, John Kerry, was there with your four Congressional leaders. The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, John Boehner, in support of the resolution authorizing the placing of the bust, said, “Winston Churchill was the best friend America ever had.”

The National Churchill Museum in Fulton marks where – here’s the National Churchill Museum in Fulton – where Churchill –

[slide titled, National Churchill Museum Fulton, featuring a photo of the exterior of the Churchill Museum with a section of the Berlin Wall in front of it]

– who accompanied President Truman to his home state on the 5th of March 1946, unequivocally warned the world of the dangers of the Soviet Union.

[Randolph Churchill]

The trustees of Westminster College have been truly visionary. In the 1960s, they transported, stone-by-stone, a bombed Sir Christopher Wren church from the city of London and they took it to Fulton. Quite extraordinary and without a doubt one of the most beautiful churches.

[return to the National Churchill Museum Fulton slide]

What an act of defiance. Under the church they’ve created a dazzling Churchill Museum, which Tim Riley, who is here today, runs. And outside it, amazingly –

[Randolph Churchill]

– they brought this incredible section of the Berlin Wall.

It’s the largest section of Berlin Wall outside Germany. And, in my lifetime, the greatest thing that’s happened has been that wall was ripped down.

[return to the National Churchill Museum Fulton slide]

And my cousin, Edwina, created the sculpture entitled “Breakthrough,” where you put the peoples walking through the wall, that you cannot stop the human spirit from seeking freedom. The church stands for democratic and Christian defiance to totalitarianism.

[Randolph Churchill]

In 2016, the International Churchill Society in the U.S. and Friends of Fulton united to put Churchill’s legacy at the heart of your nation in Washington, D.C., appropriately at the George Washington University so Churchill can be reunited with his ancestor, Washington. We’ve created the National Churchill Library and Center. And here, at the next slide, we have lots of debates, and a recent one was with your –

[slide titled, General Petraeus speaking at the National Churchill Library and Center in Washington D.C., featuring a photo of General Petraeus and a moderator sitting in chairs in front of an audience at the National Churchill Library and Center]

– great general, Petraeus, who did a wonderful debate on these challenges facing the modern world.

My great-grandfather, whose memory remains a beacon –

[Randolph Churchill]

– of how precious our liberties are to us all, would be thrilled to be remembered in your nation, both in Fulton and Washington.

Speaking as his great-grandson, the strength and enduring qualities of Churchill’s character can largely be attributed to his mother.

Her character resonates in his words in the history of World War II – “In war, resolution; in defeat, defiance; “in victory, magnanimity; in peace, goodwill.” I firmly believe that Churchill’s greatness was a gift grounded on the bedrock of your great nation. We have much to thank America for, and at this moment so do Jennie and I. Thank you very much for you great welcome. It has been a thrill to be with you today.

Thank you.

[applause]