§ 3.55 p.m.
§ THE EARL OF LONGFORDMy Lords, with the permission of the House I should like to make a Statement which is being made by the Prime Minister in another place. It is as follows:
"As the House will know, a number of proposals have been made in the months since his death for permanent memorials to the late Member for Woodford, the Right Honourable Sir Winston Spencer Churchill. I am now able to inform the House that there have been consultations with the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, and with the right honourable gentlemen who lead the Parties in Parliament, about the provision of a suitable Memorial in Westminster Abbey. After ascertaining the wishes of Her Majesty The Queen, and with the full approval of my noble friend Lady Spencer-Churchill, it has been arranged that a Memorial Stone should be placed in Westminster Abbey, immediately to the West of the tomb of the Unknown Warrior. Her Majesty has graciously consented to unveil this Stone on the occasion of the Battle of Britain Service which is to take place in the Abbey on September 19, 1965.
"I am sure that the House will agree that a Memorial in the ancient Abbey of Westminster, associated with the two world wars in which he played so considerable a part, will be a fitting and worthy tribute to the memory of Sir Winston Churchill.
"But, in addition to being a great national leader, the late Sir Winston Churchill holds a very special place in the history and feelings of Parliament. This House wishes, I know, that suitable arrangements be made to perpetuate his memory within the Palace of Westminster."
My Lords, that is the first part of the Statement of the Prime Minister. The rest of his Statement concerns the House of Commons alone.
§ LORD CARRINGTONMy Lords, I am sure that the whole House greatly welcomes the Statement of the noble Earl the Leader of the House, and that 127 all of us will agree that this is a most appropriate and worthy place for a Memorial to Sir Winston. I am sure, also, that we shall all regard it as very fitting that the noble Baroness, Lady Spencer-Churchill, is here on this occasion to listen to the Statement which has just been made by the noble Earl the Leader of the House. May I ask him whether, in the arrangements which are to be made for a Memorial to Sir Winston Churchill in the House, Members of this House, or representatives of this House, will be consulted?
§ THE EARL OF LONGFORDMy Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord the Leader of the Opposition for his observations. The procedure, I understand, is that the House of Commons in Committee will be asked to authorise the necessary expenditure. Thereafter, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister will invite a small Committee to advise on the form the Memorial should take. This Committee w ill not be technically a Parliamentary Committee but will include members of all Parties. In reply to the question about whether this House, the House of Lords, will be represented on this Committee, I am advised that the composition of the Committee will, of course, be the subject of discussions through the usual channels.
LORD REAMy Lords, may I, from these Benches, extend a most warm welcome to the Statement made by the noble Earl; and I am sure that in doing so I speak for noble Lords on all other Benches, too. It is most fittting, I am sure, that this Memorial should be in that great Abbey of ours—a Memorial, I believe, to be a flat stone on the floor between the Unknown Warrior's Grave and the Great West Door of the Abbey—so that one of the greatest warriors will be commemorated next to our own Unknown Warrior. If I may say so, I think we are indebted to the Dean and Chapter for their gracious act in suggesting this course, which naturally has our warmest approval in every possible way.
§ THE EARL OF LONGFORDMy Lords, I know that we are all very grateful to the noble Lord the Leader of the Liberal Party.