Mary Spencer-Churchill was born and brought up at Chartwell, and educated at the Manor House at Limpsfield. She worked for the Red Cross and the Women's Voluntary Service from 1939 to 1941, and joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1941 with which she served in London, Belgium and Germany in mixed anti-aircraft batteries, rising to the rank of Junior Commander. She also accompanied her father as aide-de-camp on several of his overseas journeys, including his post-VE trip to Potsdam, where he met with Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin. In 1945, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition of meritorious military services. She served many public organisations, such as the International Churchill Society, as a Patron; Church Army and Churchill Houses; and chaired the Royal National TheatreBoard of Trustees between 1989 and 1995. She was Patron of the National Benevolent Fund for the Aged. A successful author, Lady Soames wrote an acclaimed biography of her mother, Clementine Churchill, in 1979. She offered insights into the Churchill family to various biographers, prominently including Sir Martin Gilbert, who became the authorised biographer of Sir Winston Churchillafter the death of Churchill's son, Randolph, in 1968. Additionally, she published a book of letters between Sir Winston and Lady Churchill, editing the letters as well as providing bridging material that placed the letters in personal, family, and historical context. In 1980, Lady Soames was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her public service, particularly in Rhodesia. In 1992 Soames appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. Her chosen book was Memoirs from Beyond the Grave by Chateaubriand and her luxury item was a supply of fine Havana cigars. One of her more notable public appearances came on 29 April 2002 when she dined with the Queen at Buckingham Palace as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations, alongside Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the four surviving former prime ministers at the time, as well as several relatives of other deceased prime ministers. She was made a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter on 23 April 2005, and was invested on 13 June at Windsor Castle. On 31 May 2014, Lady Soames died at her home in London at the age of 91 following a short illness. Her ashes are buried next to those of her husband within the Churchill plot at St Martin's Church, Bladon, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire. Six months after her death, on 17 December 2014, Sotheby's London auctioned 255 items out of her collection on behalf of her heirs, including paintings by and memorabilia attached to her father, Winston S. Churchill. According to Sotheby's, the sale "realised an outstanding total of £15,441,822, well above pre-sale expectations of £3.6-5.5 million."
Family
Mary Soames married the Conservative politician Christopher Soames in 1947 and they had five children:
The Rt. Hon. Sir Nicholas Soames. He married Catherine N. Weatherall on 4 June 1981 and they were divorced in 1988. They have one son. He married Serena Mary Smith on 21 December 1993. They have two children, a son and a daughter.
The Hon. Emma Mary Soames. She married James MacManus on 4 July 1981 and they were divorced in 1989.
The Hon. Jeremy Bernard Soames. He married Susanna Keith in 1978. They have three children.
The Hon. Charlotte Clementine Soames. She married Richard Hambro in 1973 and they were divorced in 1982. They have one daughter. She married William Peel, 3rd Earl Peel on 15 April 1989. They have one daughter.
The Hon. Rupert Christopher Soames. He married Camilla Rose Dunne in 1988. They have three children.
