Three Brighton residents get the chance to follow their dreams around the world

Scholarships from The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust have allowed three residents from Brighton to embark on their own unique projects in far flung places.
Beatrice von Preussen (Photograph: Trent McMinn) SUS-170316-152512001Beatrice von Preussen (Photograph: Trent McMinn) SUS-170316-152512001
Beatrice von Preussen (Photograph: Trent McMinn) SUS-170316-152512001

This year the Trust has awarded 150 travelling fellowships across the UK totalling £1.4 million. The average length of a Fellowship is six weeks.

Jack Darach, a recorder maker from Brighton, will travel to Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Switzerland to discover strategies for rejuvenating the craft of recorder making.

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He said: “I am delighted and honoured to have been awarded a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship. This Fellowship will support my research into woodwind instrument-making cultures in Europe and Japan. Firstly, the personal, social and structural circumstances which lead people to become successful makers; and secondly, to understand how different aesthetic standards contribute to the development of new instruments in these countries.”

Jack Darach SUS-170316-152457001Jack Darach SUS-170316-152457001
Jack Darach SUS-170316-152457001

Nick Stockman, a campaigns manager at Brighton-based arts charity Culture24, will travel to Australia, Austria, the Netherlands and Russia to explore the contribution of after-hours museum programming to Night-Time Economies.

He said: “I’m immensely proud to have been awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study the impact of after-hours museum and gallery events on night-time economy issues in Australia and Europe. It’s a feather in the cap for us at Culture24 as we strive to support the arts and heritage sector to reach new audiences. The grant will enable me to visit five cities, experience the events and meet the people that are spearheading new thinking in this important area for the cultural sector.”

Beatrice von Preussen, an artist from Brighton, will travel to Norway to produce an illustrated children’s book based on the work of scientists in the Arctic Circle, in order to inspire interest in the natural world.

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She said: “I’m passionate about encouraging children to go out and explore the world around them. I am off to explore Svalbard, an archipelago near the North Pole. I hope to find out how icebergs float and why it is light all day and night, maybe I will even see a polar bear. My findings will be made into an illustrated book for children all about the science and nature of the Arctic Circle. I’m also taking my printing press and will be making site specific etchings as I go.

Nick StockmanNick Stockman
Nick Stockman

“I’m delighted to be supported by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and proud to be a Fellow along with so many other people doing inspiring projects all over the world.”

Since its inception in February 1965, 5,400 ordinary men and women have been awarded Churchill Fellowships from over 100,000 applicants. The ethos remains the same five decades on – for individuals to visit different parts of the world in pursuit of new and better ways of tackling a wide range of social, environmental, medical and scientific issues. The new approaches and innovative ideas with which they return are shared to benefit their local and regional communities, and, in many cases, the nation.

Before his death in 1965, the Trust said Sir Winston was adamant that he did not wish to have another statue as his memorial, so he approved the setting up of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust as his legacy, for the benefit of future generations.

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Julia Weston, chief executive of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, said: “Churchill Fellows are motivated and talented individuals who travel globally and return with innovative ideas and a commitment to share their findings to help others in the UK.”

The categories for the 2018 Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowships will be announced on May 9.

For more information, visit: www.wcmt.org.uk