ABSTRACT
Sir Winston Churchill, addressing a Young Conservatives (YC) rally at Woodford, 5 December 1955. Sir Winston spoke briefly to the Monkhams Branch at its annual dinner and dance in our political home of Woodford. Sir Winston invited Donald Forbes, the constituency chairman, to lunch, seeking assurance from him that at the age of 84 he was right in offering himself at the next general election. The Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, judged the time was opportune for him to strengthen the Conservative hold on power and consequently called a general election on 8 October 1959. The election was the mutual aid organised for the neighbouring constituencies of Walthamstow East and Epping where the Conservatives were fighting to retain the seats. Bob Mitchell was associated with another Churchillian sculpture, the work of an Italian admirer, Luigi Fironi a huge, twice life-size bronze head, now gracing the forecourt of the West Essex Conservative Club in Wanstead.
