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The Pilgrims Society, founded on 16 July 1902 [1] by Sir Harry Brittain KBE CMG, is a British-American society established, in the words of American diplomat Joseph Choate, 'to promote good-will, good-fellowship, and everlasting peace between the United States and Great Britain'. It is not to be confused with the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Over the years it has boasted an elite membership of politicians, diplomats, businessmen, and writers who have included Henry Kissinger, Margaret Thatcher, Caspar Weinberger, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Henry Luce, Lord Carrington, Alexander Haig, Paul Volcker, Thomas Kean, George Shultz, and Walter Cronkite among many others. Members of the immediate Royal Family, United States secretaries of state and United States ambassadors to the Court of St. James's are customarily admitted ex officio to membership in the Society.
The Society is notable for holding dinners to welcome into office each successive U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. The patron of the society is King Charles III. [ citation needed ]
Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered a speech to the Society on March 18, 1941. [2]
The first informal meeting of the Pilgrims of Great Britain included General Joseph Wheeler, Colonel (later General Sir) Bryan Mahon, the Hon Charles Rolls and Harry Brittain.
The first meeting of the Pilgrims of the United States was at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on 13 January, 1903.
The Pilgrims of Great Britain and the Pilgrims of the United States have reciprocal membership.
Executive Committee members are and have included:
Mrs Amy Thompson is the Executive Secretary, successor to Mrs Tessa Wells
Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich,, known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party politician and diplomat who was also a military and political historian.
Sir Henry Thomas Tizard was an English chemist, inventor and Rector of Imperial College, who developed the modern "octane rating" used to classify petrol, helped develop radar in World War II, and led the first serious studies of UFOs.
Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby,, styled Mr Edward Stanley until 1886, then The Hon Edward Stanley and then Lord Stanley from 1893 to 1908, was a British soldier, Conservative politician, diplomat and racehorse owner. He was twice Secretary of State for War and also served as British Ambassador to France.
Whitelaw Reid was an American politician, diplomat and newspaper editor, as well as the author of Ohio in the War, a popular work of history.
Frederick Edward Guest, was a British politician best known for being Chief Whip of Prime Minister David Lloyd George's Coalition Liberal Party, 1917–1921. He was also Secretary of State for Air between 1921 and 1922. He won the bronze medal with the British polo team at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The Falklands Play is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of history. It was originally commissioned by the BBC in 1983, for production and broadcast in 1986, but was subsequently shelved by Controller of BBC One Michael Grade due to its pro-Margaret Thatcher stance and alleged jingoistic tone. This prompted a press furore over media bias and censorship. The play was not staged until 2002, when it was broadcast in separate adaptations on BBC Television and Radio. It was aired again on BBC4, 1 December 2020, over 18 years after it was last transmitted.
The Sylvanus Thayer Award is an honor given annually by the United States Military Academy at West Point to an individual whose character and accomplishments exemplifies the motto of West Point. The award is named after the "Father of the Military Academy", Colonel Sylvanus Thayer. The awardee is selected by, and the award is endowed by, a committee formed from the West Point Association of Graduates. It has been awarded annually since 1958 and is the closest recognition West Point has to granting an honorary degree.
The Malta Conference was held from January 30 to February 3, 1945 between President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom on the island of Malta. The purpose of the conference was to plan the final campaign against the Germans with the Combined Chiefs of Staff. Politically, the overriding purpose was to present a united front against Stalin in the Yalta Conference a few days later. That did not happen once Yalta began, much to Churchill's disappointment. Both leaders agreed on the undesirability of the Red Army advancing into central Europe.
Sir Harry Ernest Brittain, KBE, CMG was a British journalist and Conservative politician.
Sir Sidney Herbert, 1st Baronet was a British Conservative politician.
The Liberal government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that began in 1905 and ended in 1915 consisted of two ministries: the first led by Henry Campbell-Bannerman and the final three by H. H. Asquith.
Jane Beatrice Forbes, Countess of Granard was an American-born heiress, social leader, and thoroughbred horse racer.
Sir Anthony Rumbold, 10th Baronet was a British diplomat, ambassador to Thailand and Austria.
The royal households of the United Kingdom consist of royal officials and the supporting staff of the British royal family, as well as the royal household which supports the sovereign. Each member of the royal family who undertakes public duties has their own separate household.
Ogden Mills Reid was an American newspaper publisher who was president of the New York Herald Tribune.
The New Year Honours 1973 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1973 to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1973.
Major Sir John Hubert Ward was a British army officer and courtier.
The King's Birthday Honours 1950 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, and were published in supplements to the London Gazette of 2 June 1950 for the British Empire, Australia, Ceylon and New Zealand.
Edwin Sheldon Whitehouse was an American diplomat who served as the U.S. Minister to Guatemala and U.S. Minister to Colombia.
Jean Templeton, Lady Ward was an American-born philanthropist and society hostess. The only daughter of Whitelaw Reid, the American ambassador to the United Kingdom, she lived in London after her marriage to Hon. Sir John Hubert Ward, second son of William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley.
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