"Clementine Ogilvy, Baroness Spencer-Churchill from the residents of the city of Rostov-on-Don with sincere gratitude for the mercy and help in the years of the joint struggle against fascism and in memory of the visit to Rostov-on-Don on April 22, 1945" - such a memorial plaque can be seen in the very center of the Don capital, on Bolshaya Sadovaya Street, 106/46.
Today, the city polyclinic No. 10 is located here. And in the middle of the last century, the wife of one of the most successful, famous and influential politicians of the last century, Winston Churchill, lived in this building. What brought her to Rostov and what role did this amazing woman play in world history? This is our story today.
"My Clemmie", as Winston called his wife. And she, indeed, was his friend, companion and kindred spirit. They lived for 57 years in love and fidelity. Probably, like in any family, they had difficult times. However, Clemmy had the wisdom to accept her husband as he is, and Winston was smart enough to appreciate how much his spouse was doing for him.
Scion of the windy ladies
Their first acquaintance led nowhere. Clementine was too pretty, too smart, too well-mannered and, not accustomed to the gallant treatment of ladies, the young politician Winston did not know how to approach her. Therefore, I did not risk it. Four years later, at one of the receptions, fate brought them together again. By that time, Churchill had become a little skilled in seduction, because … he asked the beauty a few meaningless questions. Clementine turned out to be an intelligent and pleasant companion. She spoke two languages (German and French), was from a noble family and was eleven years younger than Winston.
Not very long, but painful for Winston courtship began. In the end, he invited his beloved to the family estate of the Dukes of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace. For two days he was looking for words in order to propose, and on the third he despaired and hid in the room. Clementine was getting ready to go to London. The turn in this story happened thanks to the Duke of Marlborough, who almost forcibly forced Winston to confess his feelings to the girl and ask for her hand in marriage.
With difficulty, but everything happened. On August 15, 1908, Deputy Secretary Churchill announced his wedding. This was the end of his romantic torment. Clementine adopted a new husband with all his characteristics: selfish, explosive, with original habits and shortcomings. They were very different from each other both externally and internally. They had different rhythms of life, hobbies and tastes.
Ruling a nation is easier than raising children
Winston was an owl and Clementine was a lark. But both perceived it as a blessing. “My wife and I have tried twice or three times to have breakfast together in recent years, but it was so painful that we had to stop,” Churchill joked aptly as usual. And she did not insist on breakfast, travel and receptions together. They were together, but each lived his own eventful life.
Winston did a thousand strange and risky things, but she did not stop him. At the same time, she earned such confidence that she became his companion and advisor in the most difficult issues.
Since Churchill talked a lot and listened little to his interlocutor, Clementine began to write letters to him. About two thousand messages remained in family history and the youngest daughter Marie (and the couple had four children) published a touching epistolary story of their parents. In it, she makes references to the fact that Clementine was primarily a wife, and already a second mother. Winston Churchill himself believed that it was easier to rule a nation than to raise your own children. Therefore, he gave the reins of government in family matters to his wife.
It is worth thinking that this is exactly what she did.
We must immediately help Russia
According to the encyclopedias, during the Second World War, Clementine Churchill became president of the Red Cross Fund for Aid to Russia, which operated from 1941 to 1946. And they also write that she carried the misfortune that happened to our country through her heart: she collected donations for the USSR, was engaged in the selection of equipment for hospitals, bought medicines, things and food.
Looking at his wife's activity, Winston Churchill jokingly complained to the USSR Ambassador Ivan Mikhailovich Maisky that his wife had “sovietized” too quickly, and even hinted that it was time to “be admitted to some Soviet council”.
It was to help our country that in April 1945 Clementine Churchill came to Rostov. She decided to contribute to the Victory and create an object that would symbolize the joint struggle of the two countries against Nazism. These facilities were two hospitals in Rostov-on-Don, 750 beds each.
The best English medicines, equipment, furniture, instruments were brought there. And all the decoration - from nails to plumbing - was also brought from London. Sewing machines, telephones, desks, kitchen equipment, and ready-made laundries arrived in Rostov on the same trains. The whole gift cost Clemenetine, or rather England, 400 thousand pounds. Some of the equipment has survived to this day. For example, glass cabinets for storing medicines, jars, bottles. For a long time, the people of Rostov, sharp-tongued, called all the things they brought "cherchelihins". Moreover, the word was a sign of quality.
During her visit to Rostov, Clementine settled at the intersection of Bolshaya Sadovaya and Chekhov streets. And local boys were guarding her at the entrance - they wanted to see a movie stove in furs. But a pretty, sternly dressed woman came out. The local shantrap did not even realize that she was a foreigner.
There is another legend in Rostov connected with Clementine Churchill. It is said that during that visit she visited the legendary toilet at 46 Gazetnoye Street. It is legendary because after the revolution there was a bohemian cafe "Poets' Basement" in this basement - many representatives of the Silver Age performed there, meetings and poetry evenings were held. But after the war, the authorities decided to build the first public toilet in the city in this basement.
Rostov stood in ruins, and this, one of the few surviving place, not only worked, but was also kept in exemplary cleanliness. The Baroness was surprised by this fact and complimented the city. After that, in the fate of the public toilet there were several more ups (in the 80s there were exhibitions of artists and meetings of poets). But today the fate of this institution is not clear. The basement has been closed for many years.
However, back to Clementine. She met the victory in the capital of our Motherland. She was invited to the radio. And she delivered a message from her husband, Winston Churchill.
The Churchill couple lived a long and very happy life. “Often troubles come to us simultaneously with the forces that we can oppose them,” Churchill once said, and, as always, he was right. After his death, Clementine found the strength to continue living she became a member of the House of Lords and a peer as Baroness Spencer-Churchill-Chartwell. This amazing woman died on December 12, 1977, a few months before she was 93 years old.
“My dear Clemmi, in your last letter you wrote a few words that have become very dear to me. They have enriched my life. I will always be indebted to you, - wrote Winston Churchill after forty years of marriage. - You gave me unearthly pleasure from life. And if love exists, then know that we have it the most real”.
