Mary Soames
Mary Soames, Lady Soames , LG , DBE (born September 15, 1922 in Chartwell , † May 31, 2014 in London ) was the widow of Christopher Soames, Baron Soames , and a daughter of Sir Winston Churchill .
Life
She was born Mary Spencer- Churchill in London, the youngest of five children of Sir Winston Churchill and Clementine Churchill .
During the Second World War , she first worked for the British Red Cross , then later in the Auxiliary Territorial Service , in which the female soldiers of the British Army were brought together. There they reached the rank of captain and was equipped with anti-aircraft guns - batteries in the United Kingdom , Belgium and Germany used. She later served her father as an adjutant on various trips abroad, including at the Potsdam Conference .
In 1947 she married Christopher Soames. Her husband was a well-known Conservative Party politician . She lived with him, among other places, in Paris , where her husband had been transferred as British Ambassador , in Brussels , where he was Vice-President of the European Commission , and in Rhodesia , where her husband was the last Governor General . The marriage had five children, including Nicholas Soames , who was also a prominent MP for the Conservative Party. Since her husband was raised as a life peer to Baron Soames in 1978 , she has carried the courtesy title of Lady Soames as his wife .
Lady Soames has held numerous honorary positions and was a successful writer. Among other things, she wrote a biography of her mother, which has received a lot of recognition. She edited her parents' correspondence and advised her father's official biographer, Sir Martin Gilbert .
After she was ennobled herself in 1980 as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire , she was accepted into the highest British knightly order, the Order of the Garter , on April 23, 2005 . The investiture took place on June 13, 2005 on Garter Day in Windsor Castle .
Name and title
- Mary Churchill (September 15, 1922-1945)
- Mary Churchill, MBE (1945 to February 11, 1947)
- Mary Soames, MBE (February 11, 1947 to May 17, 1965)
- The Honorable Mrs. Soames, MBE (May 17, 1965 to April 19, 1978)
- The Lady Soames, MBE (April 19, 1978 to June 14, 1980)
- The Lady Soames, DBE (June 14, 1980 to April 23, 2005)
- The Lady Soames, LG DBE (April 23, 2005 until her death)
Works (selection)
- Clementine Churchill: the biography of a marriage. Cassell, London 1978, ISBN 0304303216 .
- Winston Churchill: His Life As a Painter. HarperCollins, London 1990, ISBN 0002178680 .
- The Profligate Duke: George Spencer-Churchill, fifth Duke of Marlborough, and his Duchess. Collins, London 1987, ISBN 0002163764 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ David Reynolds: Lady Soames obituary. theguardian.com, June 1, 2014, accessed June 2, 2014
Web links
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Soames, Mary |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Spencer-Churchill, Mary (maiden name); Soames, Mary, Lady Soames |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British author, daughter of Sir Winston Churchill |
DATE OF BIRTH | September 15, 1922 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Chartwell |
DATE OF DEATH | May 31, 2014 |
Place of death | London |