Campus Marks 70th Anniversary of Churchill “Iron Curtain” Speech
Officials at Westminster College and the National Churchill Museum invite members of the public to mark the 70th anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill’s immortal “Sinews of Peace” speech, which is known more commonly as the “Iron Curtain” speech, by a paying a visit to the campus where the world statesman delivered the prophetic address.
Churchill paid a visit to Westminster March 5, 1946, at the invitation of President Harry Truman to deliver the words that were heard throughout the globe predicting the start of the Cold War.
To commemorate the day, officials have announced free admission on March 5 for all those visiting the National Churchill Museum, the only North American institution fully devoted to immortalizing the life and work of Winston Churchill. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Visitors to campus may also go to Newnham Hall where a dozen local amateur radio broadcasters will be transmitting messages worldwide to commemorate this special anniversary. Visitors are invited to observe or actually transmit a message themselves if interested.
The group has come to campus for this special commemoration every five years for the past 25 years. They have spoken to other operators in Canada, throughout Europe and even South America.
The special call letters assigned by the Federal Communication Commission for them to use for the weekend transmissions are W0W, symbolizing both Winston Churchill and Westminster College.
Visitors can view the transmissions March 4 from 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m., March 5 from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. and March 6 from 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Those interested in the relevance of the Churchill 70th anniversary today can listen to the views of Westminster President Benjamin Ola. Akande and National Churchill Museum Curator Tim Riley and relive some memories of this historic day at http://www.westminster-mo.edu/churchill/.
