Churchill Launches Abbey Appeal (1953)

Unissued / Unused material. Westminster Abbey, London. LS Winston Churchill, Dr Don (Dean of Westminster) and choir, entering Church Hall, Westminster. LS Dean of Westminster speaking he says: “Mr Prime Minister, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen .......... launch it on its way. Churchill rises and speaks. Churchill’s speech. “My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, we are met here today for a purpose, which we believe that at least a million people throughout the English speaking world will be happy to give a pound and perhaps repeat the process, and others less wealthy will be proud to join with their friends in giving a pound. That is what we are asking for today, a million pounds from a million people. We have one gift already, Her Majesty the Queen is the first subscriber. The purpose is to save from decay and ruin Westminster Abbey, in the famous words of Macaulay “That temple of silence and reconciliation where the emnities of twenty generations lie buried“.... GV Choirboy presenting Churchill with en