America’s National Churchill Museum to Toll Bells 80 Times to Commemorate 80th Anniversary of D-Day
Media Alert and Invitation to Cover Event
America’s National Churchill Museum on the campus of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, will honor and remember all those who served on D-Day exactly 80 years ago this week. The Museum will solemnly toll the bells of the Museum’s St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, exactly 80 times for the brave individuals who risked their lives during the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944.
WHO: Members of the media are invited to attend and cover this reverential event that marks the 80th anniversary of the 106,000 Allied forces from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and nine other countries that participated in the largest seaborne invasion in history.
WHAT: The historic Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, is the centerpiece of America’s National Churchill Museum. Originally dating as far back as the 1200s, the church was redesigned in the 1670s by Royal Architect Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London. The church fell victim to German bombs on December 29, 1940, during World War II and lay in partial ruins for 20 years. The structure was carefully dismantled and moved stone by stone to campus, where it was rededicated in 1969 to memorialize Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech, famously delivered at Westminster on March 5, 1946.
WHEN: 12 p.m. on Thursday, May 6, 2024
WHERE: Special access will be granted for members of the media to the off-limits bell tower of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, of America’s National Churchill Museum, 501 Westminster Ave., in Fulton, Missouri. The bell tower is closed to the public to preserve the ancient steps dating back to the 1200s, the oldest part of the structure.
The historic building is currently undergoing a $4 million preservation effort. The Museum remains open to the public during the current preservation effort, which is expected to be complete in time to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s birth later this year.
WHY: America’s National Churchill Museum stands as a symbol of freedom and Western Allied resistance against global tyranny. The D-Day invasion, dubbed “Operation Overlord,” was planned by Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and conducted under the leadership of Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower. In addition to Churchill’s ties to Westminster, Eisenhower was posthumously inducted into the Museum’s Association of Churchill Fellows at the Museum’s dedication on May 7, 1969.
“It will be an honor for us to remember and reflect upon the service of so many on D-Day,” says Timothy Riley, the Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator at America’s National Churchill Museum. “The Allied invasion of Normandy was not fought to take land or treasure, but to liberate a democracy from the tyranny of Nazi occupation. The sacrifices were enormous, but outcome — liberty itself — was even greater. We will honor this not only on that significant day, but every day.”
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ABOUT WESTMINSTER COLLEGE: Founded in 1851 and home of Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech, Westminster College in Fulton is ranked prestigiously by U.S. News & World Report as the only National Liberal Arts College in Missouri. It is also listed as one of the top institutions in the country for economic mobility and return on investment, placing in the top 16% for graduate earnings with a more than 90% placement rate. Westminster is a Forbes Best Value College that focuses on educating and inspiring students to make an impact on the world around them. Find out more about Westminster College by visiting our website. For more information on America’s National Churchill Museum, please visit NationalChurchillMuseum.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Sarah Backer at 573-220-9038 or Sarah.Backer@WCMO.edu.
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