HONOURS AND AWARDS

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27628, 7 April 1955, Page 9

HONOURS AND AWARDS

Sir Winston Churchill was leaving the House of Commons after a stormy debate 43 years ago when an angry Irish' opponent flung a huge book at him and scored a direct hit on his head. Forty years later the book returned to Sir Winston Churchill as a present from an auctioneer who found it in a newly-purchased house. The book went into the Prime Minister’s library as another addition to one of the most remarkable collections of gifts ever showered on a private citizen. No less impressive are the many honours and awards—which take a full column to list in “Who’s Who’’ —bestowed on Sir Winston Churchill during his almost legendary career. His books would start a substantial library, his animals might form the nucleus of a fine zoo, and his medals total at least 25. Well-wishers the world over have kept a constant flood of gifts pouring in on the great statesman. One of the most prized gifts was a pair of black swans from the Government of Western Australia. Their new owner was grieved when one of their cygnets took off from his estate at Chartwell and never returned. Only recently Sir Winston Churchill dropped into the London Zoo tArfeed a chicken to another of his giftWnimals—Rota, an African lion. Possibly his largest present is a half-ton terrestrial globe given toy the American War Department. Among the smallest is the autograph of his ancestress Sarah, first Duchess of Marlborough. Admirers have not forgotten Sir Winston Churchill’s personal comforts. For the man who is seldom seen without a cigar 5000 Havanas arrived from one “fan.” A Kikuyu farmer in Kenya sent him 80 eggs, a British woman knitted him a sweater, and a strange variety of hats have been sent at one time or another. Stalin warmed under the Churchill charm and forwarded cases of champagne and brandy. The highlight came last November 30, on Sir Winston Churchill’s eightieth birthday. At a glittering ceremony at Westminster, members of all parties gathered to present him with a controversial portrait by Graham Sutherland. Subscribers from all over the world gave more than £300,000 to a special birthday fund for the Prime Minister. The honours awarded Sir Winston

Churchill reflect the wide range of his interests and his numerous achievements in a busy half-century or more. His knighthood—the Order of the Garter —was conferred in 1953. Eight years earlier he had declined the order when King George VI asked him to accept it. But he already possessed a varied collection of titles, decorations and honours gathered over nearly 50 years In 1953 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in recognition of his authorship of books on history and biography and his brilliant oratory. To his many medals,* including personal awards and those for campaigns dating from the Spanish War in Cuba in 1895, Sir Winston Churchill has added numerous foreign decorations. Denmark made him a Knight. of the Elephant, France awarded him the Medaille Militaire, and the Mayor of New York pinned that city’s Medal of Honour on him as he sat in bed recovering from a cold. Besides official honours from various governments, a great number of universities and societies for the arts and sciences and local bodies have given him their highest awards. An American newspaper last year even proposed that Sir Winston Churchill should be made an honorary citizen of the United States.