A Virginia Visit: Winston Churchill & Dwight Eisenhower — A Photographic Exhibit

The Williamsburg Library will host an exhibit of photographs documenting the historic visit of Winston Churchill and General Dwight Eisenhower to Virginia.

On Friday, March 8, 1946, Churchill, the wartime Prime Minister of Great Britain, and Eisenhower, former Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force, made a 19-hour visit to Richmond and Williamsburg that was documented by Richmond photographer Frank Dementi.  The visit came just three days after Churchill’s famous “Iron Curtain” speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, which marked the onset of the Cold War.  Churchill, accompanied by his wife, Clementine, and General Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, began the day with a speech before the General Assembly in Richmond followed by a train trip to Williamsburg.  There they visited the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg, including drinks and tea at the Raleigh Tavern and dinner at the Williamsburg Inn.  The photographs in the exhibit document both the public and private side of the visit.

Brian and Wayne Dementi, the sons of the photographer, organized the exhibit. 

*Exhibit will run daily from March 7 until April 30, 2016.  

A lecture about the exhibit will take place in the Williamsburg Library Theatre (515 Scotland Street) on Sunday, April 10 at 2:00 PM.  The event is free and open to the public.

*Note: The library will be closed Easter Sunday (3/27/16)

http://www.wrl.org/events/virginia-visit-winston-churchill-dwight-eisenhower