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 'Remember when: General George S Patton's opening of Welcome Club' - Knutsford, Cheshire, UK.
N 53° 18.414 W 002° 22.414
30U E 541741 N 5906594
The Welcome Club was opened at the Ruskin Rooms on Drury Lane in Knutsford by General George S Patton on 25th April 1944.
Waymark Code: WM12XEJ
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/01/2020
Views: 6
The Ruskin Rooms building erected in 1902 is located on Drury Lane in Knutsford. There is a blue plaque about the opening of the Welcome Club mounted on the wall of the building. It is inscribed as follows; Four white stars
A 'WELCOME CLUB'
for officers of the
American Third Army
was opened in this building by
GENERAL GEORGE S PATTON
Commanding Officer
on 25th April, 1944
prior to participation in the
Liberation of Europe
June 1944 to
May 1945 ( visit link) ( visit link) Another plaque mounted on the building was placed in 1980 by the Knutsford Rotary Club to mark the 75th anniversary of Rotary International. It gives the following information; RUSKIN ROOMS
THIS BUILDING WAS ERECTED BY RICHARD HARDING WATT
IN HIS USUAL MEDITERRANEAN STYLE IN 1902
AS A RECREATION AND READING ROOM FOR THE TOWNS PEOPLE
THE ARCHITECT WAS WALTER ASTON.
AMONG THE VARIOUS USES TO WHICH THE BUILDING HAS BEEN PUT
IS AS A FIRE STATION AND AS THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE BRITISH LEGION
IT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY RENOVATED IN 1977.
THE ROTARY CLUB SIGN
ERECTED BY THE ROTARY CLUB OF KNUTSFORD
TO MARK THE 75th ANNIVERSARY OF ROTARY INTERATIONALA report about the opening of the Welcome Club at the Ruskin Rooms appeared in The Knutsford Guardian on 5th May 2014 and reads as follows; 'Remember when: General George S Patton's opening of Welcome Club'
'APRIL 25 2014 – a somewhat ordinary, run-of-the-mill day for many Knutsfordians but a very important date in the town’s history.
On Friday, exactly 70 years ago, famed General George S Patton opened a welcome club for officers of the American Third Army in the Ruskin Rooms.
It was while opening the ‘Welcome Club’ in the Ruskin Rooms on April 25 1944 that General Patton made a speech that almost caused his downfall and became known as the ‘Knutsford Incident’.
In an off-the-record short speech, he mentioned ‘it is the evident destiny of the British and Americans (and, of course, the Russians) to rule the world’.
This appeared in papers on both sides of the Atlantic – omitting reference to the Russian allies, which created a diplomatic incident. All witnesses to the event said he included the Russians.
The episode was recreated in the Oscar-winning film ‘Patton – Lust for Glory’ (1969)
General George S Patton – A brief history
• Was born in San Gabriel, California, on November 11 1885.
• Represented the USA in the Pentathlon at Stockholm Olympics in 1912.
• Described as ‘America's greatest combat general of the Second World War’.
• Led the Third Army in a very successful sweep across France during World War II in 1944. He was skilled at tank warfare.
• Nicknamed ‘Old Blood and Guts’.
• Patton’s association with Knutsford came about in the first half of 1944 when Third Army, under his command, set up HQ at nearby Peover, with many of his troops being based at Toft.
• His ‘local’ was The Bells of Peover, where he once lunched with General Eisenhower.
• After the war, on May 27 1945, Patton kept a promise to return to Peover for a service of thanksgiving. His standard was presented to St Lawrence’s Church and a plaque mentions that he and the American Third Army worshipped there.
• Died December 21 1945. Suffered fatal injuries in a car crash in Mannheim, Germany and died 12 days later.'
Type of publication: Newspaper
When was the article reported?: 05/05/2014
Publication: The Knutsford Guardian
Article Url: [Web Link]
Is Registration Required?: no
How widespread was the article reported?: local
News Category: Editorial
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