The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

Winston Churchill inspired the British people, in wartime, to achieve what they barely believed possible. He was committed to encouraging and supporting ordinary men and women to achieve extraordinary feats and relished travel, spending time in Cuba, India, the Sudan and South Africa before becoming Prime Minister. His travels made him a great advocate of the benefits of learning from other communities, cultures and countries.

True to his pragmatic spirit, Churchill said he did not want a memorial after his death, but a living legacy. He wanted some way to allow British citizens to benefit from international travel as he had done.

When the time came, millions of grateful British people willingly gave personal contributions to the newly created Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, which now exists to fund British people to travel overseas on a project of their choosing. The new knowledge and ideas they accrue are brought back for the benefit of communities across the UK.

Since 1965 over 5,000 people have been awarded Churchill Fellowships, from over 100,000 applicants, including writer Nick Danziger, and Tanni Grey-Thompson, now Baroness Grey-Thompson. From developing early communication devices for the disabled, setting up a child bereavement charity in Sir Winston’s name, or investigating public transport systems across the world, Churchill Fellowships have been transformational for the recipients and the communities in which they live and work. You can hear the story of Ann Pascoe on The Radio 4 Appeal, a recent Fellowship recipient, and how she brought her learnings from India and Taiwan on caring for dementia patients back to her own community, and indeed her own life.

And now it’s your turn. If you have an overseas project in mind that you think would benefit the UK, applications for travel in 2016 are now open. The Trust is open to people of any age, gender, ethnicity or religion, with or without educational qualifications, and in any occupation or none. All that is required is a curious mind, an appetite for learning and a belief in the value of sharing information.

Visit The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for more details and to keep Churchill’s spirit of global curiosity alive.