To commemorate 50 years of Chartwell, the home of Winston Churchill, being opened to the public, the National trust are holding the Child of the Commons exhibition from 12th November to 19th February. They are using the anniversary focus to launch an appeal to raise money in the hope of acquiring an irreplaceable collection of personal items, previously on loan, belonging to Churchill, many of which are on show in the exhibition.
Upon entry to the exhibition, you are first aware of the music playing, ‘I Vow to Thee’ from Jupiter by Gustav Holst, a patriotic hymn which created an emotive and evocative atmosphere, and an air of dignity. In the background, an audio was playing of one of Winston Churchill’s famous speeches: We Shall Fight on the Beaches, which was moving and made the entire exhibition seem more recent and realistic.
The exhibition told the story of the life and political career of Winston Churchill. On display were over 50 items, including some which had never been put on display before. One could learn many interesting things that they had not known before, such as that Winston Churchill won the Nobel prize for literature and that he was the only prime minister to receive the honour of a formal vote of thanks to mark his retirement.
There were also many quotes by Winston Churchill himself, including ‘Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm’, which not only made the exhibition more personal, but showed what a compelling speaker Churchill was and reminds us that many of the things he said are still used today.
I talked to one spectator about their thoughts on the exhibition, who said that their ‘favourite part was learning that Churchill’s father sent him to join the army because he didn’t believe he was clever enough to go to university.’ Another told me that ‘it was very interesting to learn about Winston Churchill’s early life as I didn’t know much other than his career during the war.’
Remember, the exhibition is still open until the end of February so there is still plenty of time to see the display for yourself.
Beatrice Elliott, Newstead Wood School
