In the August of 1941, as Britain had found herself staring at a grim future with power and prestige challenged by the armies of the Third Reich and the empire of Japan threatening her eastern dominions, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had sailed aboard the battleship HMS Prince of Wales for his first-ever face to face meet with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt at Placenta Bay in Newfoundland.
Atlantic Superpower Summit and creation of the Atlantic Charter.
Held over four constitutive days, on board the HMS Prince of Wales and the U.S. heavy cruiser, Augusta, this conference in the Atlantic was the Atlantic Superpower Summit. It had witnessed the making of one of the most famous alliances of World War II, and the creation of the Atlantic Charter – which was simply a joint declaration issued by Britain and the U.S.
Scribbled out on a scrap of paper, the joint declaration had outlined the reasons for countering the Axis powers, and one that was later signed by twenty-four other nations including France, China and the Soviet Union.
Churchill’s Church Parade on board the HMS Prince of Wales.
Captured by Royal Navy photographer Lieutenant L.C. Priest, this photo of Roosevelt and Churchill was taken on the second day of the summit, on the deck of the HMS Prince of Wales, 10th of August, 1941.
On this day, Churchill had organised a Sunday service to bond U.S. and British seamen spiritually, if not politically. He had personally directed the grand event, and nicknamed it as the ‘Church Parade’. He had also picked the verse for the sermon and which was Joshua 1:5-9.
Why Churchill had picked the sermon, Joshua 1:5-9.
According to Elizebeth Borgwardt, professor of history and law, and author of the book, A New Deal for the World, Churchill had deliberately picked this verse for its emphasis on duty, loyalty and unflinching support for those in peril.
On that Sunday in 1941, the verse had worked its magic in bringing about solidarity between the two powers – with U.S. and British naval personnel jointly singing the verse next to the Union Jack and the Stars and Stripes fluttering side by side.
Churchill had later stated that with U.S. and British sailors sharing the same language, the same Hymns and to a point the same ideals, every word in the verse had stirred the heart and made the event an unforgettable one. Roosevelt was so moved by the service that he at the time had commented, that even if the meeting at Placenta Bay eventually failed to produce much, the Sunday service had cemented the two nations.
Digital Birthday Cards by Farbound.Net featuring Winston Churchill.
Actual Dimension: 1200 x 1203 pixels
A diplomatic and strategic marriage.
To Churchill’s secretary Elizabeth Neil, the proceedings of the day was like a wedding service, especially after she had witnessed Roosevelt walking down the aisle to take his place at the right of Churchill, aided by a walking cane and supported by his son. Furthermore, writes Elizebeth Borgwardt, ‘this was indeed the diplomatic and strategic marriage that Churchill had hoped to achieve’.
For Roosevelt, however, it was also the longest public walks he had taken since contracting polio in 1921. Churchill’s famous quote, ‘No lover ever studied every whim of his mistress as I did those of President Roosevelt’, emerges from Churchill’s endeavors of winning over Roosevelt and forging an alliance between Imperial Britain and the U.S.
Photographer L.C Priest.
Royal Navy photographer Lieutenant Leslie Cornish Priest was a wartime photographer. He was born at Clapham, South West London on the 13th of July in 1905. He had enlisted with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1939, a week before his 16th birthday. In his thirty year long career with the British Navy, he had produced countless photos of Naval affairs.
Beside his collection of photos depicting scenes and moments of the Atlantic Superpower Summit, Priest also documented the Dakar Operation in 1940 and captured scenes of everyday life of sailors on board naval ships and naval activities. This photo of Priest, is now archived with theImperial War Museum, U.K.He was 36 years old on the day the photo was produced.
I F I This is an Independent Story produced to unravel the history behind this featured Vintage Photo captured by British Naval photographer Lieutenant L.C. Priest, on the 2nd Day of the Atlantic Superpower Summit in 1941, and shed a bit of light on the life and career of the photographer. It has been created from facts curated from literary and historical sources. I
