Lecture-Concert Series features Jonathan Sandys, great-grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, on Sept. 22

Sept. 9, 2009 -- Jonathan Sandys, the great-grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, is the featured speaker in the second event of Arkansas State University’s Lecture-Concert Series. Sandys will present “The Gathering Storm” on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m. in ASU’s Student Union Auditorium, located in the Reng Student Services Center/Student Union, 101 N. Caraway Road, Jonesboro. This event, like all events in the Lecture-Concert Series, is free and open to the public.

In “The Gathering Storm,” Sandys will offer a unique perspective and intriguing insights, through the eyes of his great-grandfather, into the years leading up to the Second World War.  Drawing on the accounts and speeches given by Churchill in those years, Sandys examines the primary causes of the Second World War and evinces the possibility that, had Europe and the League of Nations acted in time, the devastation and the lives of more than 50 million people could have been spared.

Sandys was educated at Millbrook House, Oxfordshire, a school designed to help those with learning difficulties, specifically focusing on dyslexia. Hampered with dyslexia throughout his school life, a learning difficulty scarcely recognized in those days, he suffered many setbacks, and like his great-grandfather, had a miserable time at school. But with the encouragement and life lessons of his great-grandfather, Sandys has been opening the minds of children and adults alike by introducing them to the significance of Churchill’s philosophy of 'Never Surrender!’

Sandys, with colleague David Bonner, has founded Churchill’s Britain Foundation, whose purpose is to offer lectures to reach schools, colleges, universities, businesses, organizations, and individuals as possible, especially to educate those individuals interested in public service careers. The foundation’s goal is to combat illiteracy and poverty by promoting Churchillian ideals. In particular, the foundation seeks to break the myth that Churchill was born to greatness. The foundation also seeks to ensure that history is remembered and preserved, to promote Churchill’s example to future leaders, to encourage all students and adults, particularly those with learning disabilities, in discovering their own talents and abilities, and to assist those individuals seeking careers in public service.

Sandys has also created a history curriculum for a course; ‘Churchill 101 – The Making of Winston Churchill’, is designed to teach college and university students about the life, principles, morals, values and leadership skills of his great-grandfather. Sandys says, “Without a doubt this is a lifelong project, and I intend to do my part in reuniting a broken world.” For more information on the Churchill’s Britain Foundation, visit http://www.churchillsbritainfoundation.org.

For more details, contact Dr. Gil Fowler, associate dean for the Honors College, at (870) 972-2308, or via e-mail at gfowler@astate.edu.The Lecture-Concert Series presents diverse programs to enrich the cultural life of the campus, community, and region. 

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