HEADMASTERS, said Winston Churchill, have power and influence at their disposal which have never been vested in Prime Ministers.

But the Churchill Centre, dedicated to keeping the memory and accomplishments of the British statesman and warlord alive, hopes to posthumously correct that imbalance through its educational initiative when the foundation holds its annual conference in Bermuda next month.

The Washington-based Churchill Centre will be meeting at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel from November 6-8 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Bermuda Big Three meeting - the first post-World War Two summit convened at the Mid Ocean Club between Churchill, US President Dwight Eisenhower and French Premier Joseph Laniel.

"The Churchill Centre is primarily an educational organisation and we are really delighted to be working with the Bermuda schools in conjunction with our upcoming conference," executive director Daniel Myers told the Mid-Ocean News yesterday. "In fact, we are expecting more than 50 Bermudian students to participate in our conference in part or in all.

"It's fantastic that while in Bermuda we are in a position to help to spread information on Churchill and his accomplishments and what he means to the world even today. Young people need to be exposed to the example that Churchill set to the world - in particular during World War Two. In 1940, facing seemingly insurmountable odds, he decided to fight on alone against the Nazis after most of the rest of Western Europe had been either conquered or indirectly subjugated by Adolf Hitler.

"It would have been a very different world - a new Dark Age, as Churchill himself called it - if he had taken the easy way out and negotiated a surrender with Hitler after the fall of France. Instead Britain and its Commonwealth held on, alone, until America entered the war in December, 1941.

"The example that Churchill set during that time, the rare combination of political conviction and personal courage that he demonstrated at an absolutely critical juncture in history, inspired the free world and continues to be an inspiration to those born since World War Two."

Mr. Myers said in addition to the students attending the conference's seminars - which will be conducted by world-renowned historians including Sir Martin Gilbert, Churchill's official biographer - an essay competition open to all of the island's schools will be held, the overall winner being awarded a scholarship to attend a study programme in London and Oxford in July, 2004.

"Mary Soames, Sir Winston Churchill's daughter, is our patron," said Mr. Myers. "She met many international figures both during World War Two and when her father served as Prime Minister again in the 1950s. She will be in Bermuda for the conference and plans to visit a number of schools to talk to students.

"Books on Churchill detailing various aspects of his life, his career and his lasting influence will be donated by the Churchill Foundation to Bermudian schools."

Former British Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine is to be the keynote speaker at the summit dinner and will receive a special award from the Churchill Centre for his contributions to bi-lateral relations between the United Kingdom and the United States.

"Bermuda-based XL Capital Ltd. through the XL Foundation is graciously sponsoring much of this event in commemoration of the 1953 Bermuda summit and for the education of Bermudians and our attendees," said Mr. Myers.

"I'd like to thank XL Capital's president and CEO Brian O'Hara and XL Foundation president Gavin Arton and his staff for hosting a large portion of our exciting and informative conference."