Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts

In 1962 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh asked Churchill what type of memorial he would like the world to remember him by. He liked the idea of an unusual type of memorial, to be set up after his death, and suggested something like the Rhodes Scholarships, but available to everybody, on a wider basis. The concept was developed jointly by the English-Speaking Unions of the Commonwealth and of the United States. Several countries planned a nationwide appeal after Churchill's to set up a National Churchill Trust. The plans were kept secret at Lady Churchill’s request until after his death.[2]

The Trusts were founded to "perpetuate and honour the memory of Sir Winston Churchill" by administering the award of travelling fellowships known as Churchill Fellowships.[1]^:9

An attempt in 1964 by then Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson and George A. Drew to launch a fourth Trust in Canada did not come to fruition, in part due to the illness and death of the latter.[1]^:5

The UK Trust was founded on 1 February 1965, the day after Churchill's funeral.[1]^:1 Elizabeth II extended her Royal Patronage to the Trust in 1965.[1]^:2

Before Churchill's death, planning for the fund-raising appeal for the establishment of a Churchill Trust in Australia continued under the code name Operation “G” (for Gratitude), under the leadership of (later Sir) William John Kilpatrick.[3] Immediately on the announcement of Churchill's death on the 24 January 1965, a nationwide appeal for funds was launched by Prime Minister Robert Menzies, with Kilpatrick as Chairman of the Appeal Committee. Commonwealth and State Governments as well as Australian companies and individuals donated generously. The Returned Services League performed a nationwide doorknock on Sunday 28 of February, which raised £911,000. A total of £2,206,000 was raised, and the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust founded to administer the funds.[2]

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

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

The UK Trust, situated in London,[4] award 150 travelling fellowships to fund successful applicants' travel for four to eight weeks anywhere in the world, researching their chosen topic among global leaders in their field. Upon return, the organisation helps the Fellows to share their learning with professions and communities across the country. They are not academic research grants, but intended for practical research into real-world issues, covering eight themes: Arts and culture; community and citizenship; economy and enterprise; education and skills; environment and resources; health and wellbeing; governance and public provision; and science and technology.[5]

In 2019 the Patron of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (UK), Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, agreed for the letters "CF" (for "Churchill Fellow") could be used by Churchill Fellows from the UK. This is intended as an honorific to mark the contribution of Churchill Fellows to national life.

The Australian WCMT has chapters with regional committees in each state and territory,[6] with the national office at Churchill House in Canberra. All directors and regional committee members serve in an honorary capacity.[2]

The aim of the fellowships is to "provide an opportunity for Australians to travel overseas to conduct research in their chosen field that is not readily available in Australia...with further opportunity in their pursuit of excellence for the enrichment of Australian society". There are no prescriptions as to theme or topic.[2]

The New Zealand WCMT is administered by the Department of Internal Affairs.[7] Lieutenant-General Sir Jerry Mateparae, Governor-General of New Zealand, is patron of the Trust, which assists fellows to travel overseas for a period of from three weeks to three months to investigate topics in their trade, industry, profession or business, that will help them to increase their contribution to the community and their field back in New Zealand.[8]

Year	Fellow	Occupation / profession	Purpose / project / findings	Location of study
1967	Dr. Mary Remnant	Musicologist	Brought back to life, in reconstructed form, the sound of medieval musical instruments depicted on church walls and in carvings across Europe.[9]	Europe
1976	Dr. Jane Wilson-Howarth	Ecologist	Discovered numerous species that were new to science and named one, a springtail, Troglopedetes churchillatus in honour of Churchill.[10][11]	Nepal
1981	John Elkington	Business author	Environmental industry and its use in implementing the World Conservation Strategy.	United States[12]
1982	Nick Danziger	Travel artist and author	Travelling on foot and by traditional local transport, Danziger traversed from western Europe to China, and published Danziger’s Travels as a result.[13][14][15]	Western Europe and China
1988	Charles Farthing	Medical doctor	Studied AIDS at the Bellevue Hospital in New York[16]	United States
1989	Serge Lourie	Housing Association Chair	Studied urban renewal and housing in order to help tackle the housing crisis in the United Kingdom	France and United States
2000	Paul Darke	Academic and Disability rights activist	Exploring disability access to pilgrimages and shrines[17]	France and Spain
2016	Amy Varle	Housing consultant	Pioneering strategies for 21st century homeless prevention and response	United States
1991	Robin Drinkall	Entrepreneur	The Waste Industry - collection, disposal and recycling	Japan

Year	Fellow	Occupation / profession	Purpose / project / findings	Location of study
1972	Lionel Gilbert	Lecturer and curator	To study the educational use of museums in the UK[18]	UK
1972	Rob Morrison	Zoology researcher	To examine the administration of Field Study Centres and the courses offered in same[19]	UK
1984	Roger McNeice	Numismatist	To study developments in the conservation and preservation of coins and medals.[20]	UK
2008	Dr Elizabeth Grant	Architect, anthropologist and academic, University of Adelaide	To study the design of prisons for Indigenous prisoners [21]	Denmark, US, Canada, New Zealand
2009	Sarah Maddison	Social scientist and academic	To study models of Indigenous representation[22]	US and Canada
2009	Shan Raffel	Firefighter	To study emergency planning, preparation and response to fires and other incidents in large tunnels[23]	Germany, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, USA
2009	Corinne Unger	Scientist	To study leading practice abandoned mine rehabilitation and post-mining land use[24]	Austria, Germany, United Kingdom and Canada
2016	Lindy W. Cayzer	Botanist	To unlock critical taxonomic information on the Pittosporaceae in overseas herbaria[25]	Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Netherlands, France, UK
2019	Jared Thomas	Writer and museum curator	To investigate colonised people's interpretative strategies in permanent gallery displays[26]	New Zealand, US, Canada, Norway

Year	Fellow	Occupation / profession	Purpose / project / findings	Location of study
1973	Don Merton	Conservationist	Study the management of endangered species.	US and Europe