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Staercke (André de) Churchill Collection
mssHM 74343-74385
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: André de Staercke Churchill collection
Creator:
Staercke, André de,
1913-
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 74343-74385
Physical Description:
1.2 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1937-1995
Abstract: A collection of Winston Churchill
letters written to André de Staercke and related correspondence from members of the
Churchill family.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. André de Staercke Churchill collection, The Huntington Library,
San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Curt J. Zoller and Gertrude R. Zoller, December 2005.
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was a British politician, statesman, historian, and writer;
he served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955.
He married Clementine Hozier in 1908, and together they had five children; in 1922, the
Churchill's purchased Chartwell which became their private home until his death in 1965.
André de Staercke (1913-2001) was born in Ghent and studied in Belgium and France. He
entered public service in 1939 and served in a variety of positions, including head of the
Private Office of the Prince Regent of Belgium. In 1950, de Staercke began a long and
distinguished career with NATO; he retired from public life in 1976 and died in Brussels in
December 2001.
The collection consists of letters and telegrams written by Winston Churchill to André de
Staercke; the two men were friends as well as colleagues and most of the letters are
personal thank you notes for gifts sent to the Churchills. According to the de Staercke
family, Winston Churchill hoped de Staercke would marry his youngest daughter, Mary; she
married Christopher Soames instead in 1947, but de Staercke was the godfather of their
daughter (and Churchill's granddaughter) Emma Mary Soames. The collection also includes
letters written to de Staercke by Lady Clementine Churchill, Winston Spencer Churchill,
Connoisseur magazine, Pamela Harriman, Emma Mary Soames, and Mary Soames; as well as a few
letters to Sir William Nicholson, one letter from J. C. Smuts to Jean Hersholt, a photograph
of Emma Mary Soames, printed material and ephemera.
Processed by Gayle M. Richardson in November 2010; in February 2024, a finding aid was
created.
Arranged alphabetically.
The Curt J. Zoller Churchill Collection also includes 1600 books related to Winston
Churchill; these volumes are now part of the Rare Books Department.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Great Britain -- History -- 20th century
Ephemera
Letters (correspondence)
Photographs
Telegrams
Churchill, Clementine,
1885-1977
Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965
Churchill, Winston S.
(Winston Spencer), 1940-2010
Harriman, Pamela Digby
Churchill Hayward, 1920-1997
Hersholt, Jean,
1886-1956
Nicholson, William,
1872-1949
Smuts, J. C. (Jan
Christian), 1912-1995
Soames, Emma
Soames, Mary
Woods, Fred,
1932-1995
Zoller, Curt J.,
1920-2014