Mary Soames

Mary Soames, Baroness Soames (née Spencer Churchill), was born on 15 September 1922 and died on 31 May 2014. She was an English author and the youngest of five children of Winston Churchill and Clementine Churchill. She was born in London during the same week her father purchased Chartwell, a country house in Kent, where she was raised and attended local schools.

During World War II, from 1939 to 1941, Soames worked for organizations including the Red Cross and the Women's Voluntary Service. In 1941, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, serving in London, Belgium, and Germany in mixed anti-aircraft batteries. She attained the rank of Junior Commander, equivalent to Captain. She accompanied her father as aide-de-camp on several overseas journeys, notably including his post-Victory in Europe (VE) trip to Potsdam, where he met Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin. In 1945, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her military service.

Soames was involved with various public organizations. She served as a Patron of the International Churchill Society, Church Army, and Churchill Houses, and she chaired the Royal National Theatre Board of Trustees from 1989 to 1995. She was also Patron of the National Benevolent Fund for the Aged. Her various roles also included supporting the Churchill family legacy and public service initiatives.

In her diplomatic and family life, Soames accompanied her husband, Christopher Soames, a Conservative politician, during his postings as an ambassador and governor, including in Paris from 1968 to 1972 at the Hotel de Charost, and in Rhodesia. In 1980, she was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her public service, particularly in Rhodesia.

In 1992, Soames appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, where she selected as her book "Memoirs from Beyond the Grave" by Chateaubriand, and her luxury item was a supply of fine Havana cigars. She chose a movement from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony as her favorite record. On 29 April 2002, she attended a dinner with the Queen at Downing Street during the Golden Jubilee celebrations, alongside Prime Minister Tony Blair and surviving former prime ministers.

On 23 April 2005, Soames was made a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter (LG), with her investiture taking place at Windsor Castle on 13 June. She wore insignia previously worn by her father, Winston Churchill, who was made a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter in 1953.

As an author, Soames published a biography of her mother, Clementine Churchill, in 1979. She provided insights into the Churchill family to biographers including Sir Martin Gilbert, and compiled a collection of Sir Winston Churchill’s letters to Lady Churchill, offering historical and personal context. Her memoirs, derived from her diaries, titled "A Daughter’s Tale," were published in 2012.

In her personal life, Soames married Christopher Soames in 1947. They had five children.

She died in London at her home on 31 May 2014 at the age of 91 following a short illness. Her ashes are buried next to her husband within the Churchill family plot at St Martin's Church, Bladon, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire. Since 24 September 1982, following the death of her sister Sarah, she was the last surviving child of Winston Churchill.

After her death, Sotheby’s London auctioned 255 items from her collection, including paintings and memorabilia related to her father, which realized a total of over £15 million.

Her published books include biographies and personal collections, notably "Clementine Churchill: The Biography of a Marriage" (1979), "Family Album" (1982), "The Profligate Duke" (1987), "Winston Churchill: His Life as a Painter" (1990), "Speaking For Themselves" (1999), "Clementine Churchill: The Revised and Updated Biography" (2005), and "A Daughter's Tale" (2012).