The bombed London church that was reborn in the USA
While some would be repaired or rebuilt, others remained as shells, transformed into small public parks surrounded by a single wall or tower. However, one had a very different ending, being moved brick by charred brick more than 4,000 miles away and rebuilt at a college in the US Midwest.
Why did St Mary Aldermanbury end up across the pond and what is it used for now?
While St Mary Aldermanbury may have been destroyed in the Blitz, it wasn't the first time disaster had struck.
Having been founded around the start of the 12th Century, the original medieval church was destroyed in the Great Fire in 1666, then became one of the 52 sites, including St Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt by Wren.
On 29 December 1940, St Mary Aldermanbury and seven other City churches were badly damaged during a particularly devastating night of the Blitz as waves of Luftwaffe planes dropped bombs over London in what some coined as "the Second Great Fire".
With limited finances available in post-war Britain to do anything with it, the church remained a charred husk for two decades - until an unusual proposal arrived from Missouri.
"It really dates back to the end of the war on VE Day, when Sir Winston Churchill gave his famous speech on the balcony saying 'this is your victory' to the British people," explains Timothy Riley, director and chief curator of America's National Churchill Museum.
"It was a triumphant moment for all at the end of the war. But not long after there was a general election and Churchill's party lost."
In the wake of that defeat, Britain's wartime leader received a letter from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, inviting him to give a speech, which included a message from US President Harry Truman saying: "This is a wonderful school in my home state. If you come, I'll introduce you."
"I'm convinced that letter would normally have been given to a secretary by Churchill with the instruction to politely decline or refuse," Mr Riley says.
"However, when he saw this handwritten note... having just lost an election and knowing that he had more to say, he anxiously/eagerly accepted the invitation and made his way to Fulton to give the Iron Curtain speech."
The famous address, delivered on 5 March 1946, spelt out the deepening tensions between the West and the Soviet Union, and called for a special relationship to be forged between the US and UK.
Fifteen years on from the speech, and with Churchill now in his 80s, thoughts turned to how the college could commemorate it.
"Someone suggested a garden, someone suggested a statue, a plaque, and then the president of the college Robert Davidson said: 'Why don't we bring a ruined Christopher Wren church that was bombed in the Blitz, left abandoned for nearly 20 years in the City of London and rebuild it in Fulton?'," says Mr Riley.
"The reaction, of course, was bafflement; how could we do such a thing? But that's what happened in the 1960s."
After the initial suggestion was made in spring 1961, efforts began in earnest to gain permission to relocate the building and raise the $1.5m (the equivalent of more than $16m or £12m today) needed to do so.
Backing was gained from several influential sources. President John F Kennedy became the project's honorary chairman until he was assassinated in 1963, with his successor Lyndon B Johnson then taking on the role. Previous presidents Truman and Dwight Eisenhower also publicly supported the cause.
Back in the UK, Churchill endorsed the scheme, writing in a letter that it was an "imaginative concept", and following extensive discussions both the City of London and Diocese of London approved the move.
In 1965 what remained of the church was dismantled piece by piece, with each of the 7,000 stones cleaned and then numbered so they could be placed in the same formation in their new home.
Weighing more than 600 tonnes in total, they were taken by ship to Virginia, before being transported by rail to Missouri where the tricky task of rebuilding a wrecked 300-year-old building began.
The Times branded it "one of the most intricate jigsaw puzzles in the history of architecture" and the project's mason, Eris Lytle, later described how he had to learn skills once used by Renaissance craftsmen to complete the project.
With the monument completed in 1969, a service was held on 7 May to rededicate the church, attended by dignitaries from both sides of the Atlantic - although not Churchill who had died in 1965.
Today, St Mary Aldermanbury isn't an active church but forms part of America's National Churchill Museum, based on the Westminster College campus. Yet as Mr Riley points out, it does maintain at least one link to its previous life.
The bridge that crossed an ocean
"It's a popular destination wedding venue - and also where you don't have to have a passport to get married in a 'British' church."
He says the building is "perhaps the top tourist attraction in the middle of Missouri", and while those living in the area generally know about its history, "we still have a lot of people saying: 'I had no idea, it's extraordinary.'"
As for the church's original site, beside the Guildhall, today it is a small park tucked among towers and modern office blocks of the City of London. Benches, trees and plant life surround a few remaining stones, while a large granite slab marks where the altar once stood.
The site was refurbished last year with some of the funding coming from the museum, which also recently completed restoration work at St Mary Aldermanbury.
"We've invested nearly $6m (£4.5m) into the preservation of the church so that we continue to be good stewards, so that it'll thrive and inspire and inform generations to come," says Mr Riley.
Reflecting on the relocation of a bombed church to another continent, he believes it has become much more than a memorial to Churchill's Iron Curtain speech.
"It is, I think, an extraordinary symbol of the Anglo-American relationship... and a constant reminder of the bond that our two countries continue to share in our own histories."
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk
Churchill's favourite spy: Aristocrat who risked her life in WW2
Family visit fire boat named after Blitz heroine
'Mum was embarrassed about her WW2 bravery medal'
America's National Churchill Museum
St Mary Aldermanbury Garden
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Geographic
4 days ago
- National Geographic
Charles Lindbergh was a Nazi puppet—and his famous flight was overrated. Here's why.
Charles Lindbergh standing in front of his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, which he used on his transatlantic flight. Photograph by Bridgeman Images The aviator was so impressed by German propaganda that he grossly overestimated Hitler's airpower. I have to declare a personal stake that shapes my opinion as I write this story. It has its origins in 1940, 85 years ago this month. I was seven years old, living near London. I watched the choreography of a great battle underway, etched in vapor trails high above in the crisp blue sky of summer, the combat that became known as the Battle of Britain. I wasn't scared. I watched with the detached excitement of a child unaware of how perilous those days were for us. That understanding would come later, from my work as a journalist, spending years discovering how closely fought that famous victory was. Had that battle been lost it is doubtful that Britain, then alone as most of Western Europe fell to Hitler, could have survived, as it did, until Pearl Harbor made American intervention inevitable. As things have turned out, one of my most unsettling discoveries has been that a man long hailed as an American legend, Charles Lindbergh, worked avidly with the Germans to undermine the chances of a British victory. Much has long been known about Lindbergh's alliance with American fascists between 1939 and 1941, and particularly his speech in Des Moines, Iowa in September 1941, in which he blamed three groups—the Roosevelt administration, the British and the Jews—for pressing the nation to confront Hitler. Much less known is the role Lindbergh played in England during the 1930s as Hitler's useful idiot, spreading the idea that Nazi Germany had become an invincible air power. The first Nazi to spot and exploit Lindbergh as an effective agent of German disinformation was Hermann Goering, Hitler's deputy and head of his air force, the Luftwaffe. Goering recognized that Lindbergh's celebrity gave him oracular authority on aviation—whether justified or not. Portrait of Charles Lindbergh Photograph by The Stapleton Collection, Bridgeman Images A decade after Lindbergh's epic solo flight across the Atlantic, on October 16, 1937, the Nazis made their master move, allowing him into their secret test field at Rechlin, near the Baltic coast. Virtually all the Luftwaffe's future aircraft were revealed to him. Credulous and convinced that no other European power rivaled Germany in the air, Lindbergh thereafter became a powerful influence on the 'peace at any price' factions in Britain and France. Lindbergh had no background in military aviation, but when he spoke on the subject of anything with wings, a lot of important people listened. There were numerous reports of Lindbergh pressing his views on leading European politicians, some of whom found them unnerving and demoralizing. For example, the British military attaché in Paris, seeing how rattled the French were by Lindbergh's assessments, reported to London, '…the Fuhrer found a most convenient ambassador in Colonel Lindbergh.' Limited Time: Bonus Issue Offer Subscribe now and gift up to 4 bonus issues—starting at $34/year. Lindbergh's impact in Britain was equally effective. In a single meeting he could turn a stern patriot into an abject appeaser. In 1938 a highly influential Tory, Thomas Jones, noted in his diary that before listening to Lindbergh he had been for standing up against Hitler but: 'Since my talk with Lindbergh I've sided with those working for peace at any cost in humiliation, because of the picture of our relative unpreparedness in the air…' (How the Battle of Britain changed the war—and the world—forever) Lindbergh also had a willing ear in the American ambassador in London, Joseph Kennedy. In 1938 he told Kennedy that Germany was then able to produce 20,000 military airplanes a year and gave a dark prediction of likely British defeat in the air. (In October 1938 Goering, on behalf of Hitler, awarded Lindbergh the Service Cross of the German Eagle.) In fact, Lindbergh's numbers were absurdly inflated. They were, literally, being used by the Nazis as a force multiplier. Moreover, Lindbergh's propaganda had masked a systemic weakness in the organization of German aircraft production. It was far from being a model of Teutonic efficiency. Production was dispersed among many manufacturers competing for resources and slowed by supply chain bottlenecks. In contrast, British aircraft production was far more rigorously directed and resourced from a central command. Charles Lindbergh receiving the Service Cross of the German Eagle from Hermann Goering on behalf of Adolf Hitler Photograph by SZ Photo/Scherl, Bridgeman Images More crucially, Lindbergh had no inkling of a game-changing technical leap in the deployment of air power that the British pioneered, the world's most advanced radar-based early warning system. Incoming waves of bombers could be pinpointed and tracked before they reached the British coast. Their size, direction and altitude were precisely plotted on a map in a central operations room, enabling the Royal Air Force (R.A.F) to deploy its precious hundreds of advanced fighters and pilots sparingly in the most efficient and deadly way. Britain's 'finest hour' At the outbreak of war, in September 1939, Germany did have a clear lead in numbers: 2,893 available front-line airplanes versus 1,600 in Britain. But by July, 1940, when the Battle of Britain began, the difference had narrowed. Britain had 644 front-line fighters to 725 German (with their time over England critically limited by fuel). By the end of September, when the RAF's famous victory was achieved, they had 732 fighters available while the Luftwaffe was reduced to 438. Weeks before the battle in the air began, Britain's expeditionary army in France had been nearly wiped out, saved only by the evacuation at Dunkirk. Few foresaw that its air force, the most scientifically advanced of its forces, was actually capable of saving the day. But—a point mostly overlooked by historians—Prime Minister Winston Churchill, fighting off a last-ditch resistance by appeasers, made his confidence in the R.A.F's strengths the bulwark of his case for carrying on the war. (Searching for the remains of two early transatlantic pilots) This is testament to Churchill's remarkable openness, at the age of 65, to technical transformation: As a young man he had served in the army, and had then twice served as First Lord of the Admiralty, in 1911 and 1939, running the Royal Navy. But, as much as he loved Britain's imperial-scale navy, he understood in 1940, ahead of many others, that the island nation's last line of defense was now in the air. On June 18, 1940, in one of his greatest speeches, Churchill warned, 'The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us…if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age.' Yet, if Britain prevailed, the world would say, 'This was their finest hour.' The battle engaged remarkably low numbers of men in combat, only a few hundred on each side, almost like medieval knights, each alone in a cockpit. When it was over, Churchill made the indelible tribute to his airmen: 'Never in the history of human conflict have so many owed so much to so few.' Victory in the air ended any chance of Hitler carrying out Operation Sea Lion, his planned invasion of Britain. And it finally laid bare the pernicious extent of the disinformation spread by Lindbergh—swallowed whole by many, including Ambassador Kennedy. Even then, Kennedy, a hardened isolationist, had learned nothing. Unmoved by the victory, he said, 'The British have had it. They can't stop the Germans and the best thing for them is to learn to live with them.' (Charles Lindbergh's wife was a record-breaking aviator in her own right) It's important to note that Lindbergh's crossing of the Atlantic in 1927 was an act of superb airmanship—particularly of navigation—but it did nothing to advance the science of aviation. His airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, was a one-off bespoke model built for only one purpose: for one man to safely cross the Atlantic. It was not in any way a precursor. The science necessary to carry passengers safely across any ocean was an American achievement, developed mainly in a wind tunnel at Caltech in California, where two companies, Boeing and Douglas, created the first twin-engine all-metal airliners. In fact, the need for a larger, twin-engine airplane to cross oceans was foretold by two British military aviators, Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown, who were the first to actually fly across the Atlantic, 1,890 miles, from Newfoundland to Ireland, in 1919, in a converted World War I bomber. They landed, unheralded, in a field and came to rest, nose down, in a bog, not like Lindbergh on a floodlit runway with the whole world listening on radio. As a result, to this day few people realize who was first. It will fall to President Donald Trump to decide how the nation will mark the centennial of Lindbergh's 1927 flight from Long Island, New York, to Paris. This will confront America with a challenging moral judgment: Can a legendary human endeavor ever be celebrated if the 'hero' turns out to have been so deeply flawed?
23-07-2025
Easy, high protein breakfast burrito recipe 2 ways to kick start the day
Dan Churchill joined Joe Buck on "GMA" to serve a healthy breakfast. ESPN play-by-play announcer Joe Buck joined "Good Morning America" at the anchor desk on Wednesday, and to help him properly fuel up, chef and cookbook author Dan Churchill accompanied the crew on set to whip up a quick, healthy and high-protein recipe to kickstart the day. Churchill created two options for Buck, the first with ground turkey, black beans and egg whites for extra fiber and less fat; the second, a more traditional version with crispy potatoes with peppers, scrambled eggs and cheese. For people who eat dairy and want a bit of cheese inside, Churchill suggested "do a bit of cottage cheese to make it even lighter and higher in protein." He also said that no matter what fillings you choose, "the ratio of actual contents to the fold" is the most important part of pulling off the perfect breakfast burrito. Buck, who said he regularly cooks breakfast burritos for his two sons, tried his hand at Churchill's simple "pull and tuck then fold it in" method, which improved greatly on the second attempt. Check out his full recipes below. Turkey and Egg White Breakfast Burrito Protein per burrito: About 30-35 grams Makes: 2 Ingredients 4 ounces lean ground turkey or turkey sausage 1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed 6 egg whites 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional) 2 high-protein tortillas 1/4 cup salsa Hot sauce Spinach (optional) Salt and pepper to taste Red chili flakes, to taste Olive oil Directions Heat a skillet over medium heat with a little bit of olive oil. Once shimmering, add the ground turkey and cook until browned. Season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Add black beans until warmed through. In a separate pan, scramble egg whites until just set. Fill a tortilla with scrambled egg whites, turkey and bean mixture, and sprinkle with cheese. Add salsa or hot sauce. Fold in both ends of the tortilla and roll up. Wrap in foil to eat on the go. Egg Scramble and Potato Hash Burrito Protein per burrito: About 20-25 grams Makes: 2 Ingredients 4 large eggs 1 small yellow potato, diced into 1/2-inch cubes (Yukon gold is my preference) 1/4 onion, diced 1/4 bell pepper, diced Olive oil 2 tortillas Optional: 1/4 cup cheddar cheese Directions Wash and dry the potatoes. Cut into half-inch cubes. Saute potatoes in pan over medium heat with a small amount of olive oil until golden and soft. Add onion and pepper, cook until tender. In a bowl, scramble eggs and cook them in a separate pan. Layer hash and eggs into tortillas and add cheese, if desired. Roll into a burrito, serve and enjoy. Recipes reprinted courtesy of Dan Churchill. By clicking on these shopping links, visitors will leave These e-commerce sites are operated under different terms and privacy policies than ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links. SOME PRICES ARE DYNAMIC AND MAY CHANGE FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. Have questions about ordering or a purchase? Click here. 'GMA' kitchen picks 31% off Amazon Lodge 8 Inch Cast Iron Pre-Seasoned Skillet – Signature Teardrop Handle - Use in the Oven, on the Stove, on the Grill, or Over a Campfire, Black $17.90 $26 Amazon Shop Now Amazon TRUFF Original Black Truffle Hot Sauce, Gourmet Hot Sauce with Ripe Chili Peppers, Black Truffle Oil, Agave Nectar, Unique Flavor Experience in a Bottle, 6 oz. $14.99 Amazon Shop Now 33% off Amazon Sponsored Content by Taboola
Chicago Tribune
10-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: Jury selection begins in Scopes trial
Today is Thursday, July 10, the 191st day of 2024. There are 174 days left in the year. Today in History: On July 10, 1925, jury selection began in Dayton, Tennessee, in the trial of John T. Scopes, charged with violating the law by teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution. (Scopes was convicted and fined, but the verdict was overturned on a technicality.) Also on this date: In 1509, theologian John Calvin, a key figure of the Protestant Reformation, was born in Noyon, Picardy, France. In 1890, Wyoming was admitted as the 44th US state. In 1929, American paper currency was reduced in size as the government began issuing bills that were approximately 25 percent smaller. In 1940, during World War II, the Battle of Britain began as the German Luftwaffe launched attacks on southern England. (The Royal Air Force was ultimately victorious.) In 1951, armistice talks aimed at ending the Korean War began at Kaesong. In 1962, the first active communications satellite, Telstar 1, was launched by NASA. In 1985, the Greenpeace protest ship Rainbow Warrior was sunk with explosives in Auckland, New Zealand, by French intelligence agents; one activist was killed. In 1991, Boris N. Yeltsin took the oath of office as the first elected president of the Russian republic. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush lifted U.S. economic sanctions against South Africa. In 2002, the U.S. House approved a measure to allow airline pilots to carry guns in the cockpit to defend their planes against terrorists (President George W. Bush later signed the measure into law). In 2015, South Carolina pulled the Confederate battle flag from its place of honor at the Statehouse after more than 50 years. Today's Birthdays: Singer Mavis Staples is 86. Actor Robert Pine is 84. International Tennis Hall of Famer Virginia Wade is 80. Folk singer Arlo Guthrie is 78. Baseball Hall of Famer Andre Dawson is 71. Rock singer Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys) is 71. Banjo player Bela Fleck is 67. Actor Fiona Shaw is 67. Singer/actor Jacky Cheung is 64. Actor Alec Mapa is 60. Country singer Gary LeVox (Rascal Flatts) is 55. Actor Sofia Vergara is 53. Actor Adrian Grenier is 49. Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is 48. Actor Thomas Ian Nicholas is 45. Singer/actor Jessica Simpson is 45. Actor Emily Skeggs is 35. Pop singer Perrie Edwards (Little Mix) is 32. Actor Isabela Merced is 24.
