I recently described to a bright, confident student how America’s National Churchill Museum (ANCM) was shipped stone by stone from London to the United States as a memorial to Winston Churchill’s “The Sinews of Peace,” or “Iron Curtain,” speech.
Those of us of a certain age from Westminster College can give a rundown of the facts in our sleep — how the 17th century Christopher Wren-designed St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, was partially destroyed in the 1940 Blitz.
Then we typically provide a laundry list of how Westminster’s audacious president at the time decided the abandoned church he saw in a 1961 Life magazine feature would be a fitting memorial to Churchill’s speech, delivered on campus on March 5, 1946, while also serving as a world-class museum.
When I get rolling with the taken-for-granted, known-to-us-Blue Jays story, just as I once did as an ANCM tour guide, my ungrateful mind sometimes slips into autopilot, and my mouth runs on while I reflect on today’s weather, my next deadline or what I’m cooking for dinner that night.
As they say, we are all consumed by “First World problems,” or the trivialities of a generation lucky enough to be raised during peacetime with rampant access to TikTok videos and, my personal favorite, Diet Coke.
The student I mentioned above brought me out of my Diet Coke-guzzling, autopilot description of post-World War II London and local stonemasonry by unflinchingly stating, “That story sounds made up.”
Say what?
Churchill firmly stated, “Study history. Study history …” for so many reasons, didn’t he? Perhaps he had a crystal ball that showed him the world in 2026.
Engaging the Next Generation at ANCM
At Westminster, we are phenomenally proud of our history and look forward to a crowd during the 80th anniversary of Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech, March 5-7. We are focused on broadcasting the event to countless platforms and people, cramming as many modern-day Churchill fans into the Historic Gymnasium (and ANCM) as fire codes will allow.
We want to see everyone — particularly young people! Educating and engaging the next generation on the significance of Churchill’s speech and ANCM are arguably the most important reason for celebrating the British bulldog’s speech, year after year.
Area Middle and High School Students to Attend “Defending Liberty” by Acclaimed Actor Randy Otto
This anniversary, approximately 400 middle and high school students from across Callaway County will join us at 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 5 on campus in Historic Gymnasium for “Defending Liberty”: a performance by nationally acclaimed actor and historian Randy Otto as Churchill.
After the event, “Churchill” will take questions from students in efforts to inspire a new generation of leaders and bring a voice from the past into the present.
Fulton High School Art Project to be Displayed at ANCM
ANCM is also working with Fulton High School art teacher Pamela (Campbell) Doss, whose classes are engaged in a unique project centering on inspirations from “Iron Curtain” speech excerpts.
Engaging her students in the history and beauty of ANCM comes naturally to Doss, who visited the Museum multiple times as she grew up in Fulton. Doss was so inspired years ago that she created a unique painting of the ancient church when studying art at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg.
“When I was a kid, the Museum was just that cool-looking church in town, but then as I got older, I learned a little more about it through my father, and then a lot of presidential visits took place [at ANCM] in the 1990s, when I was in college,” Doss explains. “At that time, I was inspired to do an abstract watercolor of the Museum, with pen and ink on top of it.”
Doss’ students will exhibit different artistic interpretations of ANCM, from foam core models to multimedia presentations to watercolor paintings.
FHS student work will be exhibited in the Wit and Wisdom March 1-30. Admission is free March 5-7.
Churchill’s Great-Great Grandson’s Charming Interview with a 104-Year-Old RAF Pilot and Churchill Fellow
Globally, Churchill’s 11-year-old great-great grandson, Alexander Churchill, is being featured for conducting perhaps one of the most charming interviews ever with a World War II veteran. Watch the complete interview with Royal Air Force pilot and Churchill Fellow Colin Bell, who will celebrate his 105th birthday on March 5. The interview is shared with Westminster and ANCM compliments of the British Normandy Memorial Trust.
Flight Lieutenant Bell was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after surviving 50 bombing raids as a member of the specialized Light Night Striking Force. The member of the Greatest Generation was among numerous veterans Alexander interviewed in his capacity as youth ambassador to the British Normandy Memorial Trust.
In the video, Alexander asks, “What should we learn from the Greatest Generation?” and “Why is it important for my generation to remember these events?”
Bell insightfully responded as follows:
“I say it over and over again, actually. Be bold, but don’t be reckless. … It’s very important for your generation to understand that defense of the realm is the most important thing of all, because if you don’t successfully defend yourself, you’ll get overrun by despots, and everything that you treasure dear is taken away from you. And I think it’s only by telling these stories about World War II that your generation will understand what we were fighting for. We were fighting for liberty and honor, and Sir Winston, your great-great grandfather, would have understood that completely.”
Our young people need heroes such as Veteran Colin Bell to remind us to be bold but not reckless and to defend the liberty that others fought to secure.
Because of the inconsistencies of our time and the lack of character of many current leaders, perhaps the student I described at the beginning of this story was right to question me. If we do not place living examples before our young people, we should not be surprised when what is real feels like an illusion. Yet the courage celebrated at Westminster this March is not an abstraction: It is a call to the next generation to stand vigilant, bold, and unflinching in defense of liberty. Be sure to join the next generation, and so many others, March 5-7 on the campus of Westminster College.
We can’t wait to welcome you!
Sarah Rummel Backer is the Director of Media Relations and Senior Writer at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. A proud Westminster graduate, Sarah has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and strategic communications in the areas of higher education, medicine, agriculture, and the private business sector.
