Ditchley
 Ditchley  (Deep state milieu)    
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| Formation | 1958 |
| Founder | David Wills |
| Subpage | •Ditchley/Canada •Ditchley/Governors •Ditchley/UK •Ditchley/US |
| Another set of private meetings... | |
The Ditchley Foundation is an Anglo - Canadian - American network similar to the Bilderberg Group, and has a significant overlap in membership. One will also find overlap with the Integrity Initiative, like Ngaire Woods.
The Foundation
It is based at the mansion Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire, aims to promote international understanding and relations, especially Anglo-American relations, through a programme of around twelve annual conferences on matters of international interest. The foundation was established in 1958 by Sir David Wills, descendant of the tobacco importing family, W. D. & H. O. Wills of Bristol.
At each conference, around forty international invitees are drawn from senior levels of politics, business, the armed forces, media, and academia. The current director is James Arroyo OBE, previously director for data at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, charged with adapting the organisation to the digital age.
The meetings
“Ditchley is one of the hidden gems of the Transatlantic relationship... its role as a clearing house for ideas; a forum for debate and discussion; and a magnet for policymakers gives it a unique status. It is the intellectual expression of 'soft power' and a tribute to the pre-eminence of reason and rational debate."”
John Major [1]
Discussion at each two-day conference begins with all members present, before participants divide into three sub-groups, each having its own chairman and rapporteur to summarise proceedings. Proceedings end with one more conference-wide session. Discussions are private and non-attributable, under the Chatham House Rule, but a full account is produced by the Director, and posted on the Foundations website. (This setup is similar to the Bilderberg meetings)
A permanent secretariat works at Ditchley, organising about 12 conference weekends per year. It is run, usually, by a retired ambassador. Some 40 people come to each weekend: one-third from America, one-third from Britain and one-third from the rest of the world. They are chosen for being bright, informed or influential on the matter in hand. [1]
Ditchley House
The 250 year-old palatial country house is equipped with modem conference rooms, interpretation circuits and CCTV. It is elegantly decorated with valuable antiques and priceless paintings.
Ditchley Park has been a center of intrigue since it was purchased in 1933 by Ronald Tree, who was Minister of Information Duff Cooper's advisor on American affairs. Tree made the estate available to Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the early years of World War II when it was feared that Chequers could be a target for German bombers.
During these years Ditchley became a meeting place and retreat for British and American leaders. Roosevelt emissary Harry Hopkins was Churchill's guest at Ditchley in January 1941 for discussion on troop morale; details of the Lend-Lease program were worked out amid the serene surroundings of Ditchley.[2]
Related Quotation
| Page | Quote | Author |
|---|---|---|
| Cyrus Vance | “Ditchley conferences seed ideas and deepen understanding. The consequences have often been significant and have engendered contacts, friendships and working relationships which have influenced events and policies in many fields.” | Cyrus Vance |
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