Webinar: Winston Churchill Visit in 1946

An event to commemorate Winston Churchill's six-week holiday in South Florida from January 16 through March 2, 1946.

Cover: Winston and Clementine Churchill, along with Colonel Frank Clarke, in the side yard of the Clarke residence at 5905 N Bay Road, Miami Beach, on January 16, 1946. Courtesy of Miami Daily News.

On Wednesday, January 16, 1946, Winston and Clementine Churchill arrived in South Florida for a six-week holiday. The couple stayed with Colonel Frank W. Clarke, president of the Canadian Clarke Steamship Company, at 5905 North Bay Road on Miami Beach. The residence served as home base for the former prime minister as he traveled around South Florida, spent a week in Cuba, and received an honorary degree from the University of Miami.

During his visit, Churchill spent time reading, painting, and organizing his thoughts for several important speeches. At Colonel Clarke’s home, Churchill wrote one of the most consequential post-war speeches that defined the cold war era that followed.

Figure 1: Winston Churchill receiving an honorary Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami on February 26, 1946. Courtesy of Florida State Archives.

As a new benefit for paid subscribers to the Miami History Substack, I will be conducting a monthly webinar on a variety of South Florida historical topics. The presentation on Churchill’s time in South Florida will be the first of these FREE webinars for those who support the channel as a paid subscriber.

Details of the webinar are as follows:

Topic: 80th Anniversary of Winston Churchill in South Florida

Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Time: 6:00pm EST (90-minute duration)

If you are a paid subscriber and you are unable to attend the event date and time, it will be recorded and shared with all paid subscribers after the event.

The webinar will share the stories, photographs and even video of Churchill’s momentous visit to South Florida in 1946.

Figure 3: Winston Churchill holding a Cockatoo in the side yard of the Clarke residence on February 28, 1946. Courtesy of Florida State Archives.

To get the login details for this free webinar, you must register at the link below. Again, this event is free to all paid subscribers to the Miami History Substack.

If you do not see the registration link below, you can become a paid subscriber for $5 per month, or a discounted rate of $50 per year.