There are so many people and organisations I wish to thank, but I would like to start with the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for granting me a Fellowship in 2014. The Trust’s support and generosity made it possible for me to conduct invaluable research in the US and I am truly grateful to them.
Others in the US made my time there both productive and enjoyable. I am so grateful for the kindness shown by David and Manuela Roosevelt, who gave me such a wonderful insight into Eleanor Roosevelt and the family as a whole; to Henry Morgenthau Junior for his reminiscences and his daughter Sarah for her hospitality; to Fritzy and Jack Goodman for their hospitality and introductions; to Lee Pollock, the Executive Director of the US Churchill Centre for his enthusiasm, energy and resourcefulness; to James Kariuki of the British Embassy in Washington DC for his time and assistance; and to June Hopkins (Harry’s granddaughter) for giving me some helpful pointers. The staff of the Library of Congress could not have been more helpful or friendly, nor could Robert Clark and the team at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, New York state. I am also grateful for the assistance given me by the staff at the Jack F. Kennedy library in Boston.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Gina Lynn and family in DC, David Taylor and Helen Nowicka, Zoe and Phyllis Waldron, David Wighton and Charis Gresser for all their encouragement, support and hospitality. Thanks too to the Hay Adams Hotel in DC and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.
Whilst in the US I had the great good fortune to meet the distinguished historian Lynne Olson, whose books I greatly admire. I thank her for her invaluable help and encouragement and for reading these pages for me.
My sincerest thanks too for the kind permission from the Churchill family estate to quote from Lady Soames’ book and the Churchill collections at Cambridge.
In the UK the incomparable Allen Packwood, director of the Churchill Archives, has been a tower of strength and has put up with countless queries. I am indebted to him for his wise words and guidance and believe he does us all a great service as a custodian of our national heritage. His staff are unfailingly patient, helpful and friendly. My greatest thanks to the Churchill collections at Cambridge for the permission to quote from the material held in their archives.
Terry Charman at the Imperial War Museum in London is another great asset to his country; his knowledge and enthusiasm are magnificent and inspiring and I thank him too for his vital and numerous contributions. In addition I must express my sincere thanks to Phil Reed and Tom Wright for their help, including a thrilling private tour of the Churchill War Rooms. Thank you to Claridge’s Hotel for allowing me a glimpse of the Churchills’ penthouse suite.
Of course a special word of thanks must go to members of the Churchill family for their thoughts, recollections and encouragement. I am so grateful to Celia Sandys and Edwina Sandys for sharing what were sometimes obviously painful memories and pay tribute to their courage and elegance. I was equally fortunate to talk to Randolph Churchill, Emma Soames and Minnie Churchill, and wish to express my sincerest gratitude to them all. Minnie kindly allowed me to view her mother’s correspondence with Clementine.
Many former members of the Churchills’ staff were supremely helpful in painting a picture of Clementine and I loved meeting them. I would like to express my warmest thanks to Heather White-Smith, Lady Williams, Doreen Pugh, Jill Burridge, Chips Gemmell and Shelagh Montague Browne for their fond and insightful memories. The Countess of Avon, John Julius Norwich and David Montgomery were also thrilling to interview.
I am indebted to Lord Stanley of Alderley and his family, not least for the chance to peruse the family photograph album for hitherto unpublished pictures of Clementine, to Lady Bonham Carter for her time and permission to quote extracts from her family papers held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and to the librarians for pointing me in the right direction.
Thanks must also go to John Forster, archivist at Blenheim Palace, Alan Brown at Lloyd’s of London, and the volunteers and staff at Chartwell, who have all gone out of their way to be helpful. I am also grateful to Nvard Chalikyan for her translation from the Russian.
The author Michael Shelden was very generous in allowing me to draw on his excellent account of the lead-up to the Great War in his commendable book on Winston Churchill, entitled Young Titan.
Lesley Koulouris at Berkhamsted High was a wonderful guide through the school archives and I am grateful to the headmaster and staff at Summer Fields School. Kevin Gordon of the Seaford Historical Society and Anthony Woodhead from Winston Churchill’s former constituency of Woodford, were both extremely generous with their knowledge and time and I thank them both profusely.
Joe Cooper and Briony Peters provided timely and important help in researching and I wish them all the success in their future careers. My heartfelt thanks too to Neil Sherlock, Frances Goodhart, Alison Ramsey, Jean Purnell, Sue Purnell, Eve Waldron, Paul Larcey, Cybele Hay, Tom Barry, Anthony Marks and Sally Barnes, Richard Courtain and David Savva for support of various sorts, and to Paul Marston and British Airways for their help with my flights.
I have been fortunate indeed to have had Sam Harrison as my wise and erudite editor and Heather Holden Brown has once again proved herself a redoubtable agent. My warmest thanks also go to Melissa Smith, Jessica Axe, Liz Somers, Lucy Warburton and Charlotte Coulthard at Aurum Press for all their patience, commitment and help and Steve Gove for his tireless copy-editing. The wonderful London Library has been very accommodating.
For the many more who have helped me on my way to understanding a great and complex figure, I pass on my thanks. My family most of all.
Sonia Purnell