In commemoration of the 50th year of the anniversary of the death of Winston Churchill Alvin Crisp and Chris Wills from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints received invitations to be presented to Her Majesty The Queen and Prince Philip at a reception in Buckingham Palace. Both men are recipients of a Travelling Fellowship by the Winston Memorial Trust. A representative selection of Fellows from each of the five decades enjoyed a memorable evening of renewing old friendships and meeting new Fellows, the highlight of which was being joined by five members of the Royal Family for informal conversations.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Previously Alvin Crisp of the Huddersfield congregation was awarded a Travelling Fellowship having witnessed the severe injuries of a colleague in the Fire Service and travelled extensively studying the latest treatments for burns victims. He was employed as an Operational Station Officer with the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority.
Alvin introduced a fellow member, Chris Wills from Solihull, to the WCMT who was also awarded a Fellowship to travel in Western Europe in 1990 to investigate how the proposed unification of Europe in 1992 would affect the economy of the United Kingdom. Bro Wills retired in January 2012 after working for the Church for over twenty years as the Area Support Manager for Europe and Africa in what was then called the Audiovisual Department. At that time Alvin Crisp and Chris Wills were invited by the Trust’s patron, her Majesty the Queen, to a luncheon at the Guildhall, London to mark the 25th year since the death of Sir Winston and the establishment of the Trust.
Since 1965, over 5000 British citizens have been awarded Churchill Fellowships, from over 100,000 applicants, to travel overseas to study areas of topical and personal interest. The knowledge and innovative ideas they bring back are shared, for the benefit of their profession, their community, and, in many cases, the nation. For many people, a Churchill Fellowship proves transformational, and they go on to achieve great things - effecting positive change within society.