Mary Soames

Mary Soames, Baroness Soames LG DBE FRSL (née Spencer-Churchill; 15 September 1922 – 31 May 2014) was the youngest of the five children of Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine. She was the wife of Christopher Soames, Baron Soames.

Biography

Mary Spencer-Churchill was raised at Chartwell and educated at the Manor House at Limpsfield. She worked for the Red Cross and the Women's Voluntary Service from 1939 to 1941, and joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service with whom she served in London, Belgium and Germany in mixed anti-aircraft batteries, rising to the rank of Junior Commander (equivalent to Captain). She also accompanied her father as aide-de-camp on several of his overseas journeys, including his post-VE trip to Potsdam, where he met with Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin.

She served many public organisations, such as the International Churchill Society, as a Patron; Church Army and Churchill Houses; and chaired the Royal National Theatre Board of Trustees between 1989 and 1995. She was Patron of the National Benevolent Fund for the Aged.

A successful author, Lady Soames wrote an acclaimed biography of her mother, Clementine Churchill, in 1979. She offered insights into the Churchill family to various biographers, prominently including Sir Martin Gilbert, who became the authorised biographer of Sir Winston Churchill after the death of Churchill's son, Randolph, in 1968. Additionally, she published a book of letters between Sir Winston and Lady Churchill, editing the letters as well as providing bridging material that placed the letters in personal, family, and historical context.

One of her more notable public appearances came on 29 April 2002 when she dined with the Queen at Buckingham Palace as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations, alongside Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the four surviving former prime ministers at the time, as well as several relatives of other deceased prime ministers.

Lady Soames was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her public service, particularly in Rhodesia. She was appointed a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter on 23 April 2005, and was invested on 13 June at Windsor Castle.

On 31 May 2014, Lady Soames died at her home in London at the age of 91 following a short illness. Her ashes are buried next to those of her husband within the Churchill plot at St Martin's Church, Bladon, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire.

Family

Mary Soames married the Conservative politician Christopher Soames (later created Baron Soames) in 1947 and they had five children:

• The Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur Nicholas Winston Soames (known as Nicholas – b. 12 February 1948) – Conservative Member of Parliament and former Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
• The Hon. Emma Mary Soames (b. 6 September 1949) – editor of Saga magazine
• The Hon. Jeremy Bernard Soames (b. 25 May 1952)
• The Hon. Charlotte Clementine Soames (b. 17 July 1954) now Countess Peel – is married to The Earl Peel, the Lord Chamberlain
• The Hon. Rupert Christopher Soames (b. 18 May 1959)

On 17 December 2014, Sotheby's London auctioned on behalf of her heirs, 255 items out of her collection, including paintings by and memorabilia attached to her father, Winston S. Churchill.

Titles from birth

A list of the titles Lady Soames held in chronological order from birth:

• 15 September 1922 – 1945: Miss Mary Spencer-Churchill
• 1945 – 11 February 1947: Miss Mary Spencer-Churchill, MBE
• 11 February 1947 – May 1965: Mrs. Christopher Soames, MBE
• May 1965 – 1972: The Hon. Mrs. Soames, MBE
• 1972 – 19 April 1978: The Hon. Lady Soames, MBE
• 19 April 1978 – 14 June 1980: The Rt Hon. The Lady Soames, MBE
• 14 June 1980 – 23 April 2005: The Rt Hon. The Lady Soames, DBE
• 23 April 2005 – 31 May 2014: The Rt Hon. The Lady Soames, LG, DBE