Tag: London

Charting Churchill: Big Ben and House of Commons, London

Big Ben, Elizabeth Tower, House of Commons, Houses of Parliament, London 2014 by Leslie Hossack

Big Ben and House of Commons, Houses of Parliament, London 2014

© Leslie Hossack

In October 1900, Winston Churchill was first elected to the House of Commons as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Oldham. This was the second of twenty-one elections that he contested. He lost in 1899, 1908, 1922, 1923 and 1924 but won the other sixteen elections. Thus Winston was a Member of Parliament for just over 62 years, spanning the time period 1900 – 1964. For further details, please visit The Churchill Centre.

Churchill had been preparing for this role for some time. In his book Churchill Style (2012), Barry Singer describes the self-tutoring program that Winston had embarked upon in India in 1896, when he asked his mother to send him a Parliamentary history of the last 100 years. “Once a set was supplied, the young scholar devised his own unique method for reading the twenty-seven volumes of the Annual Register of parliamentary debates. He did not read a debate until he had written down on paper his own opinion about its subject. After reading the debate, he reexamined his initial written view and then rewrote it.”

Winston’s father would have taken part in several debates recorded in the Annual Register. Lord Randolph Churchill was first elected to Parliament in 1874, the year he turned 25. Winston, who was born that same year, always looked up to his father. In 1900, it appeared Winston was following closely in his father’s footsteps when he was first elected to the House of Commons at the age of 25.

The image featured above is part of the limited edition collector’s portfolio created by Leslie Hossack to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill. She presents locations that chart Churchill’s personal and political life, from his birth at Blenheim Palace in 1874 until his death in London in 1965. THE CHURCHILL PHOTOGRAPHS are part of Hossack’s larger body of work that explores Nazi architecture in Berlin, Stalinist structures in Moscow, contested sites in Jerusalem, a Cold War bunker in Ottawa, NATO’s Headquarter Camp in Kosovo, and buildings linked to the Japanese Canadian internment during World War II.

To view more photographs, please visit Leslie’s website.  lesliehossack.com

Charting Churchill: 105 Mount Street, London

105 Mount Street, London 2014 by Leslie Hossack

105 Mount Street, London 2014

© Leslie Hossack

The last year of the 19th Century saw Winston Churchill resign from the army and return to England. His first bid for a seat in Parliament was unsuccessful so he headed off to South Africa as a war correspondent. After being captured by the Boers, Winston escaped and made his way back to London. In August 1900, he moved into his first bachelor flat at 105 Mount Street, shown above. Two months later, he was elected to Parliament and began his life of public service.

As the 20th Century dawned, Winston Churchill, a child of Victorian England, was starting to settle down. However, he did not give up travel entirely. After his election in 1900, he sailed to the United States for a lecture tour that lasted through January 1901. The tour was hugely successful and helped to establish his international reputation as an outstanding orator. Winston had left England during the reign of Queen Victoria, and he returned to take up his duties as an elected Member of Parliament during the reign of Edward VII.

By now, Churchill was well known as an adventurer, lecturer, journalist and author. As of 1900, he had published countless newspaper articles and several books. These include: The Story of the Malakand Field Force (1898), The River War (1899), Savrola, his only novel (1900), London to Ladysmith via Pretoria (1900) and Ian Hamilton’s March (1900). To view a complete list of the 43 books written by Sir Winston Churchill, please visit The Churchill Centre.

The image featured above is part of the limited edition collector’s portfolio created by Leslie Hossack to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill. She presents locations that chart Churchill’s personal and political life, from his birth at Blenheim Palace in 1874 until his death in London in 1965. THE CHURCHILL PHOTOGRAPHS are part of Hossack’s larger body of work that explores Nazi architecture in Berlin, Stalinist structures in Moscow, contested sites in Jerusalem, a Cold War bunker in Ottawa, NATO’s Headquarter Camp in Kosovo, and buildings linked to the Japanese Canadian internment during World War II.

To view more photographs, please visit Leslie’s website.  lesliehossack.com

Charting Churchill: 29 St. James’s Place, London

Churchill Residence at 29 St. James's Place, London 2014 by Leslie Hossack

Churchill Residence, 29 St. James’s Place, London 2014

© Leslie Hossack

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace in 1874. His first recorded memories are of the years in Ireland when the family lived in Little Lodge, Dublin. His father, Lord Randolph, served as secretary to his own father from 1876 to 1879. The family moved back to London in 1880, after the birth of Winston’s brother John Strange Spencer Churchill.

In April 1880, when Winston was five, Lord and Lady Randolph moved their growing family into the house above, at 29 St. James’s Place in London.

In his book My Early Life, Winston Churchill wrote about his time in this house as he faced the miserable prospect of being sent away to school for the first time. “After all, I was only seven, and I had been so happy in my nursery with all my toys. I had such wonderful toys: a real steam engine, a magic lantern, and a collection of soldiers already nearly a thousand strong.”

Churchill’s birthplace, Blenheim Palace, had an enormous influence on his life. As a boy, he often visited his grandparents there. During the time that his family was living in the London house shown above, eight year old Winston wrote a letter to his mother from Blenheim. “My Dear Mamma, I hope you are quite well. I thank you very very much for the beautiful presents those Soldiers and Flags and Castle they are so nice it was so kind of you and dear Papa I send you my love and a great many kisses Your loving Winston”

Winston’s childhood interest in toy soldiers appears prophetic. During World War II, Churchill became Prime Minister on May 10th, 1940, and he is widely regarded as the inspirational leader who saved western civilization from Nazi tyranny. He also achieved fame as a soldier, writer, orator and parliamentarian.

The image featured above is part of the limited edition collector’s portfolio created by Leslie Hossack to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill. She presents locations that chart Churchill’s personal and political life, from his birth at Blenheim Palace in 1874 until his death in London in 1965. THE CHURCHILL PHOTOGRAPHS are part of Hossack’s larger body of work that explores Nazi architecture in Berlin, Stalinist structures in Moscow, contested sites in Jerusalem, a Cold War bunker in Ottawa, NATO’s Headquarter Camp in Kosovo, and buildings linked to the Japanese Canadian internment during World War II.

To view more photographs, please visit Leslie’s website.  lesliehossack.com

Sir Winston Churchill’s 140th Birthday

Sir Winston Churchill's Birth Room, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, 2014 by Leslie Hossack

Sir Winston Churchill’s Birth Room, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, 2014

© Leslie Hossack

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born 140 years ago at Blenheim Palace on the 30th of November 1874. His father, Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill, was the Member of Parliament for Woodstock, and his mother was American Jennie Jerome.

When Winston was born, his parents were visiting his grandparents. Winston’s grandfather was the 7th Duke of Marlborough; Blenheim Palace had been built to honour the 1st Duke of Marlborough’s victory over the French in 1704.

Blenheim Palace had an enormous influence on Sir Winston Churchill during his long and remarkable life. In 1951 he wrote: “I am proud to be born at Blenheim.”

The image above shows Winston Churchill’s birth room at Blenheim Palace. It is the first in a series of photographs by Leslie Hossack that examines the extraordinary life of Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, from his birth in 1874 until his death in 1965.

Churchill became Prime Minister on May 10th, 1940, and he is widely regarded as the resolute, inspirational leader who saved western civilization from Nazi tyranny. He also achieved fame as a soldier, writer, orator and parliamentarian. In addition, he is known as a man who loved his family and the life of luxury.

The image featured above is part of the limited edition collector’s portfolio created by Leslie Hossack to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill. She presents locations that chart Churchill’s personal and political life, from his birth at Blenheim Palace in 1874 until his death in London in 1965. THE CHURCHILL PHOTOGRAPHS are part of Hossack’s larger body of work that explores Nazi architecture in Berlin, Stalinist structures in Moscow, contested sites in Jerusalem, a Cold War bunker in Ottawa, NATO’s Headquarter Camp in Kosovo, and buildings linked to the Japanese Canadian internment during World War II.

To view more photographs, please visit Leslie’s website.  lesliehossack.com

LONDON TIMES Artist Talk with Special Presenter Julian Armour of Music & Beyond

LONDON TIMES Artist Talk with Special Presenter Julian Armour of Music and Beyond

Exposure Gallery, 1255 Wellington Street West, Ottawa

Exhibition: 18 September – 5 November, 2014

Artist Talk: 9 October, 6:00-8:00

featuring special presenter Julian Armour, Artistic and Executive Director, Music and Beyond

LONDON TIMES is an exhibition of photographs by Barbara Bolton, Abigail Gossage, Leslie Hossack and Patricia Wallace. Curated by Michael Tardioli, Executive Director, School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa, this show presents informed and evocative images of defining periods in London’s remarkable history. Bolton presents theatres that stayed open during the bombing of World War II and still stand today; Gossage provides a view of the city through rain-streaked glass with her dreamy visions of London streets; Hossack, who explored Sir Winston Churchill’s London, presents her studies of the bunker complex known as The Churchill War Rooms; and Wallace showcases some distinctive aspects of selected pre-1939 London pubs, a tapestry of interiors that meet rigid criteria of historic authenticity and architectural importance.

For more information about Barbara Bolton, Abigail Gossage, Leslie Hossack and Patricia Wallace, please visit their Studio 255 website.