Sarah Millicent Hermione Churchill

October 7, 1914 — September 24, 1982

Sarah Churchill was the third of Winston and Clementine Churchill’s five children. Fiercely independent and at times stubborn, Sarah’s family nickname was “Mule.” Though shy as a child, Sarah shared much of her father’s creative and artistic nature. With few careers open to women of her position, she became an actress and dancer, most notable for her role opposite Fred Astaire and Jane Powell in the film Royal Wedding (1951). She also shared her father’s talent a writer, publishing several books, including poetry anthologies and a book of fairy tales. During World War II, Sarah Churchill joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAFs), where she served as an officer and aerial photographic reconnaissance analyst at Danesfield House. Sometimes, she knew the details of military operations even better than Winston. Sarah served as her father’s aide-de-camp multiple times during the war, first at the Tehran Conference in 1943, and again at Yalta. It was her stellar performance at Tehran as a daughter diplomat that inspired Franklin Roosevelt and Averell Harriman to bring their own daughters to Yalta.

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