The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
Analysis
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in February 1965, 61 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, education/training, the advancement of health or saving of lives and disability, which this site groups under health and saving lives. It says it makes grants to individuals and acts as an umbrella or resource body.
In the financial year ending September 2025, The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust reported income of £6.5m and spending of £3.7m, leaving 43% of income unspent that year. Across the 5 years on record, from September 2021 to September 2025, income grew from £577k to £6.5m (+1029%), an average of +83% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to September 2025, when income rose by 132%. Over the whole period it spent 126% of the income it received.
Among 24,651 England and Wales charities whose main cause is health and saving lives and that reported income, The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust sits at the 97th percentile: it is larger than about 97% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 98th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include The Helen Hamlyn Trust (£6.5m), Christian Blind Mission (United Kingdom) Limited (£6.5m) and Oxford Hospitals Charity (£6.5m).
In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 86% and investments 14%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £4,555. Charitable activities took 83% of spending and raising funds 15%. Reserves of £3.8m would cover about 12 months of spending at that rate. It employed 25 people.
Income and spending
Where the income comes from
- Donations 86%
- Legacies 0.1%
- Investments 14%
- Other 0.0%
In the charity's own words
The Churchill Fellowship, the operating name of the Trust, offers Travelling Fellowships to any British Citizen (over 18 years of age) resident in the UK to go abroad on a worthwhile enterprise of their own choosing. The knowledge, understanding and skills acquired, enriches their own lives and by their example and through the dissemination of knowledge, the UK as a whole.
Similar-sized charities, same cause
| Charity | Location | Income |
|---|---|---|
| The Helen Hamlyn Trust | Oxfordshire | £6.5m |
| Christian Blind Mission (United Kingdom) Limited | Cambridge | £6.5m |
| Oxford Hospitals Charity | Oxford | £6.5m |
| The Mary Stevens Hospice | Westmidlands | £6.5m |