East Midlands residents scoop nine prestigious Churchill Travelling Fellowships, marking the 50th
anniversary of Sir Winston’s living legacy
To mark its 50th anniversary year as Sir Winston’s living legacy, The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
has just awarded a record number of 150 Travelling Fellowships. Nine of these grants, totalling
£52,000, have been awarded to people in the East Midlands.
The nine Fellows will travel to seven countries between them, across four continents, where they
will carry out a wide range of projects. The average length of a Fellowship is six weeks.
This year’s East Midlands Fellows include:
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Steven Moncaster, a supply demand strategy manager from Newark, who will be travelling
to the USA to investigate stakeholder engagement and decision-making in water resource
planning.
Gavin Straffon, a senior physiotherapist from Nottingham, who will be travelling to Australia
and the USA to research the role of the physiotherapist within multidisciplinary
tracheostomy care teams.
Kiri Madhani, the Sports Officer for the University of Nottingham Student Union. She will be
travelling to Australia to explore ways of engaging young people in sports programmes post
education.
Alex Crisp, a police constable from Leicester, who will be travelling to North America and
Australia to research best practice in the emergency response to mental health crisis.
Anne-Maria Olphert, a chief nurse from Leicester, who will be travelling to New Zealand to
explore best practice in palliative care services.
Sam Bamkin, a lecturer in education from Leicester, who will be travelling to Japan and
Taiwan to observe and learn from teaching practice in these countries.
Alison Ward is a researcher at the University of Northampton. She will be travelling to
Denmark to explore the experiences of people with early stage dementia, through the
means of photography and storytelling.
Laura Pattinson, a lecturer from Retford, who will be travelling to Canada to investigate
health improvement in radiotherapy.
Since its inception in February 1965, over 5,000 ordinary British men and women have been
awarded Churchill Travelling Fellowships, from over 100,000 applicants. The ethos remains the same
five decades on – for individuals to visit different parts of the world in pursuit of new and better
ways of tackling a wide range of social, environmental, medical and scientific issues, in order to bring
back new approaches and innovative ideas to Britain, for the benefit of their local and regional
communities, and, in many cases, the nation.
Before his death in 1965, Sir Winston was adamant that he did not wish to have another statue as
his memorial, so he approved the setting up of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
(www.wcmt.org.uk) as his national memorial and living legacy, for the benefit of future generations.
The Trust was founded on 1 February 1965, the day after Churchill's funeral; and just one week after
his passing an Appeal was launched to the nation by Field Marshal Lord Alexander of Tunis. Millions
of grateful British people willingly gave personal contributions to the newly created Trust. The nation
raised an initial £2.8 million – a huge sum of approximately £48 million in today’s money, which
remains the basis of the Trust’s finances today.
“Sir Winston’s legacy lives on through our Fellows – individuals who, like him, have vision,
leadership, a passion with a purpose, and a commitment to help their fellow citizens” says Jamie
Balfour, Director General of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.
Churchill Fellows are remarkable but essentially ordinary individuals. Aged 18 and over, they come
from all walks of life (no qualifications are required in order to apply, but you must be a British
citizen). Their common denominator is their dedication to solving often complex problems facing
their communities.
“Churchill understood the power of potential. Inspiring millions around the world during his lifetime,
Sir Winston believed and proved that, with the right support, ordinary men and women could
achieve extraordinary feats – and that their success and knowledge sharing would inspire and drive
others in turn”, explains Sir Richard Vickers, Director General of the Winston Memorial Trust, who
served from 1983-1993.
Notes to Editors:
In total 150 Fellowships have been awarded across the UK in 2015, an investment of over £1.34
million in British citizens. The Fellows will be travelling to 58 countries between them, across 6
continents. The categories for the 2016 Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowships will be announced
on 6th May 2015. See www.wcmt.org.uk for more details.
Annual categories represent current areas of concern in the UK, as well as Churchill’s areas of
interest, such as penal reform, travel, the crafts and communities.
DID YOU KNOW…?
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Churchill was voted ‘Greatest Briton of all time’ in a 2002 BBC poll
Over 5,100 WCMT Travelling Fellowships have been awarded since 1965
66 Travelling Fellowships awarded in the first year (1966)
150 – Travelling Fellowships awarded in 2015, a record number, to mark the 50th anniversary
Examples of current categories:
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Education
Environment and Sustainable Living
Prison and Penal Reform
Medicine, Health & Patient Care
Examples of our partners:
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The Baring Foundation (Arts and Older People / Creative Ageing)
The Rank Foundation (Communities that Work)
Wave Trust (Early Years Prevention & Intervention)
The Prison Reform Trust (Prison & Penal Reform)
Churchill 2015
‘Churchill 2015’ is a unique international celebration of the life and legacy of Sir Winston Churchill,
fifty years after his death. Churchill-related activity will take place around the world to
commemorate his achievements, to highlight his vibrant existing legacy, to promote a range of
educational opportunities and to bring his life and work to new audiences. Churchill 2015 follows
three main themes: Commemoration, to mark this important anniversary appropriately; Education,
to engage and inspire future generations; and Legacy, to highlight, develop and enhance the existing
work of Churchill organisations in delivering programmes focusing on leadership, debate and public
speaking. Churchill 2015 is being led by an alliance of those charities and institutions with an interest
in the life or legacy of Sir Winston. For a list of partners and a first glimpse of some of the planned
activities (there are more to be announced) see www.churchillcentral.com.
We have many examples of Fellows’ stories of achievement from 1965 to the present day. If you
would like one from a particular year or location, or would like to interview a Fellow, please
contact The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Press Office on 020 7799 1660, or email
press@wcmt.org.uk
@wcmtuk
Partner of @ChurchillCentrl
#Churchill2015