John Spencer-Churchill

John George Spencer Churchill was born on 31 May 1909 and died on 23 June 1992. He was an English painter, sculptor, and stockbroker. Churchill was related to prominent British figures through his family; he was the nephew of Sir Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister.

Early Life and Family Background

Spencer Churchill was the son of John Strange "Jack" Spencer-Churchill (1880–1947) and Lady Gwendoline Theresa Mary Bertie (1885–1941). His paternal grandparents were Lord Randolph Churchill, the third son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough, and Lady Frances Vane. His maternal grandparents included Montagu Bertie, the 7th Earl of Abingdon, and Gwendoline Mary Dormer, daughter of James Charlemagne Dormer, a British Army officer.

Through his mother’s family, he was connected to notable American and British families. His maternal grandmother, Jennie Jerome, was American, the daughter of Leonard Jerome, a wealthy New York City businessman and associate of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Through the Jerome family, Spencer Churchill was a cousin of Clare Sheridan, a sculptor. His relationships extended to other members of the Churchill family, including first cousins Diana Churchill, Randolph Churchill, Sarah Tuchet-Jesson, Lady Audley, Marigold Churchill, and Mary Soames, Baroness Soames.

Education

Spencer Churchill was educated at Harrow School, a prestigious boarding school in England, and later attended Pembroke College, Oxford.

Career

Following his university education, he entered the London stock exchange firm Vickers da Costa, where his father was a partner. At the age of twenty-three, he traveled to Italy and was mentored by Sir William Nicholson. During his travels, he also met the artist Bernard Meninsky while journeying from Munich to Madrid. During the Spanish Civil War, he was in Malaga sketching for the Illustrated London News.

Churchill also worked as a painter for Lady Churchill at Chartwell, creating murals and friezes that are still present today. During the Second World War, he served as a Corps Camouflage Officer. Following the Dunkirk evacuation, he personally informed his uncle Winston Churchill about the need for small boats to aid in troop rescues.

After the war, he established the interior decorating business George Spencer. In 1961, he published a memoir entitled *Crowded Canvas*, in which he recounted the first fifty years of his life. The New York Times described the memoir as covering this period and quoted Churchill expressing hope for future achievements.

Personal Life

On 13 May 1934, Spencer Churchill married Angela Mary Culme-Seymour in Portofino, Italy. Angela was the daughter of Major George Culme-Seymour and Janet Beatrix Orr-Ewing, and granddaughter of Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, 3rd Baronet. The couple briefly lived with the Churchills at Chartwell before moving to Spain. The marriage ended before 1938; Angela formed a relationship with and married René Guillet de Chatellus, a Frenchman, in 1948. They had a daughter, Sarah Cornelia Spencer-Churchill, born in 1935, who married James Colin Crewe in 1957 and had children.

Spencer Churchill’s subsequent marriages included:

- Mary Cookson in 1941, which ended in 1953.

- Kathlyn Tandy, whom he married in 1953; she died in 1957.

- Lullan Janson (later Boston), whom he married in 1958; this marriage ended in divorce in 1972.

References and External Links

Additional information on John George Spencer Churchill can be found through photographs available at the National Portrait Gallery, London.