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Now On View

Hello Tim,


Winston Churchill died at age 90 on January 24, 1965, putting into motion a meticulous plan for a historic State Funeral. The plan, which had been started more than a decade earlier, was code-named "Operation Hope Not" and was decreed by Queen Elizabeth II to be "on a scale befitting his position in history."


This exhibition examines Sir Winston’s State Funeral, the largest in British history at the time, and the private internment for family at the Church at Bladon in Oxfordshire. It includes a series of rarely exhibited oil paintings by Churchill’s nephew, John Spencer-Churchill, and archival material from the Museum’s holdings, along with material on loan from the Collection of Philip and Susan Larson.


The exhibition is made possible by the Anson Cutts Endowment for America’s National Churchill Museum.


Programming support for the exhibition is made possible by the Kostich Endowment for America’s National Churchill Museum.

Upcoming Events


Through March 31: "Operation Hope Not:" The State Funeral of Sir Winston Churchill


February 23: Wren 300 Architects of Peace talk on "Pieces of Peace: Wren, Churchill, and the Phoenix of Aldermanbury" by Timothy Riley


February 25: Wren 300 Music in the Time of Christopher Wren organ recital by Frederick Hohman


March 14: Wren 300 Architects of Peace talk by Rev. Aaron White, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Fulton

Wren 300

Wren 300 is a multi-faceted, international celebration of the life and work of the renowned British architect, mathematician, astronomer, and scientist Sir Christopher Wren on the tercentenary of his death. In the 1960s, Wren's St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury was relocated from London to Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where it honors Winston Churchill's "The Sinews of Peace" speech. Learn more about Wren and find other events at wren300.org.

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Music in the Age of Christopher Wren


Churchill Fellow Frederick Hohman will present a program of music to honor and commemorate British architect and scientist Sir Christopher Wren on the 300th anniversary of his death.


The music will feature the majestic Noel Mander Organ in Wren's St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury.


This program is made possible, in part, by the Kostich Endowment for America’s National Churchill Museum.


Event Details

St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury

Saturday, February 25

1 pm

Free with Museum admission

Learn more
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Wren 300 Architects of Peace Speaker Series


Join us this spring for a speaker series exploring diverse perspectives on peace by regional leaders. Co-hosted by Westminster College's Center for Faith and Service.


Event Details

St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury

7-8 pm

Free


February 23 – Timothy Riley, Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator of America’s National Churchill Museum

March 14 – Rev. Aaron White, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Fulton

April 11 – Tim Parshall, President of Congregation Beth Shalom, Columbia

Learn more

Churchill Fellow Baxter Brown Watson (1923-2023)


America's National Churchill Musuem and the Association of Churchill Fellows of Westminster College mourn the passing of Churchill Fellow, Westminster College alumnus, and World War II veteran Baxter Brown Watson, who died on January 3, aged 99.


Baxter, who, as a student at Westminster College, had the honor of leading the procession including Harry Truman and Winston Churchill into the College's gymnasium, where Churchill delivered "The Sinews of Peace" on 5 March 1946. Baxter captured one of the most famous images taken that day of Winston Churchill, a photograph now in the Museum's permanent collection.

Over the decades, Baxter regularly attended Churchill Fellows events and delighted in sharing his eyewitness account of Churchill's visit, his own brush with history, to subsequent generations. He will be sorely missed. At the request of his loved ones, memorial gifts may be given to America's National Churchill Musuem or Westminster College.

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New to the Museum Store: 1946 Replica Pennants


Based on an original from the Museum's permanent collection, this navy felt pennant is a smaller replica of those waved by the crowd as President Truman and Winston Churchill drove through Fulton on March 5, 1946.

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