Well done Neil. Doug Russell
________________________________ From: churchillchat@googlegroups.com <churchillchat@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Neil Coates <nmcoa...@bigpond.com> Sent: Friday, May 5, 2017 12:13 AM To: churchillchat@googlegroups.com Subject: RE: [ChurchillChat] Sir Winston Churchill on USS Randolph Churchill was visiting the Reeves villa, La Pausa, in the Alpes-Maritimes Department of France on the Mediterranean at the time. In a letter to Clementine dated 22 October 1958 he wrote: “We are examining the possibility of going to lunch next Sunday upon the Randolph, an American aircraft carrier. They have the idea that they can pick us up in one of their special helicopters and drop us on the ship itself. We have invited the Captain and his wife to lunch on Friday to look into the possibilities. I have never been in a helicopter, and would like to make a voyage which would certainly save a great deal of toil.” The luncheon appointment came to fruition as Churchill says in his letter of thanks to Wendy Reeves for her hospitality on his return to London: “… my stay at Pausaland … was really most delightful, and I think our helicopter journey to the giant American ship was an exhilarating incident. I must say I admired your courage at close quarters to the machine, and I am sure that on patriotic grounds you must have enjoyed this day above all others.” Winston S. Churchill by Martin Gilbert, volume VII ‘Never Despair’ 1945—1965, Heinemann, London, 1988 pp 1279, 1281 Wendy Reeves was an American philanthropist, socialite and fashion model. At the time she was the mistress of Emery Reeves, Churchill’s literary agent, whom she later married. USS Randolph, was the second US Navy ship named for Peyton Randolph, President of the First Continental Congress. She was built as an Essex class aircraft carrier commissioned 9 October 1944. She was awarded three Battle Stars in the Pacific Theatre in WW2. After the war she was refitted as an attack carrier, CVA and at the time of her fifth Mediterranean deployment 2 September 1958 to 12 March 1959 was designated as anti-submarine, CVS. As part of the NASA Mercury Project she was a recovery ship for the splashdown of Virgil Grissom and of John Glenn. Thank you for highlighting an interesting interlude in Churchill’s later life. Neil H Coates From: churchillchat@googlegroups.com [mailto:churchillchat@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Gary Santos Sent: Friday, 5 May 2017 12:13 AM To: ChurchillChat Subject: [ChurchillChat] Sir Winston Churchill on USS Randolph I'm researching the history of the aircraft carrier USS Randolph. Winston Churchill visited the USS Randolph on October 26, 1958 in Canne, France. Supposedly, this was his first visit to a US warship since the end on WWII. Does anybody have background information of this event? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to churchillchat+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<mailto:churchillchat+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>. To post to this group, send email to churchillchat@googlegroups.com<mailto:churchillchat@googlegroups.com>. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to churchillchat+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<mailto:churchillchat+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>. To post to this group, send email to churchillchat@googlegroups.com<mailto:churchillchat@googlegroups.com>. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to churchillchat+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to churchillchat@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
