The Churchill Literary Society

Churchill in 1912; shortly after  founding the Other Club Winston Churchill had been in parliament for nine years by 1911, and during this time he had become notoriously controversial. Churchill had already changed political parties once (he was to do so again in 1922), he staunchly supported free trade, a largely unpopular ideal, and he also fought for Irish Home Rule campaign - a movement that many members of Parliament strongly opposed. To support him was often seen as supporting contentious political ideals. It is because of this that Churchill and his friend, F. E. Smith (Smith, who held many political beliefs similar to Churchill, later became the 1st Earl of Birkenhead) were blackballed when they asked to enter one of the most prestigious and renowned political clubs in England: a fortnightly dining club known simply as "The Club." Founded in 1764 by the artist Joshua Reynolds and the essayist Samuel Johnson, the Club was to be "composed of the heads of

Churchill (left) in Egypt in 1921 For the past month or so, I have worked on creating a digital map that charts all of Winston Churchill's travels. It will catalogue everywhere he went. As you may imagine, it is a large task; Churchill traveled everywhere from Calcutta to New York in his long life. So far, I have charted everywhere that he has traveled, as far as I know, up to the year 1907. I have fifty-eight years to go, but am planning to finish it sometime this month, if possible. Keep checking the map, as I am updating it constantly. I hope that you enjoy this resource!

In 1929, Winston Churchill visited Virginia and made Richmond's elegant Executive Mansion, the oldest in the United States, the base of his operations. Edwin Slipek Jr. notes: "In May 1929, the energetic Churchill, 54, suddenly found himself out of political power and with a rare chunk of time on his hands…. He lost his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and not unimportantly, the salary that came with it....Seeking to generate some income, Churchill decided to step up his writing, a skill for which he also was widely recognized. His new projects included a biography of John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, an ancestor, as well as a series of 10 newspaper articles for London's Daily Telegraph that would chronicle his North American trip." Churchill relished the trip, and when he wasn't writing or socializing with his hosts, Gov. Harry F. Byrd and his wife, Anne Beverley Byrd, he could often be found tramping through Civil War battlefields and