Evening star., 1950-01-05
By George Kennedy

ton, died OF a heart attack yeSter-
day afternoon at his home, 342s
Prospect avenue NV. He was 70
Sir Willmott, who preferred tt
be called Bill" retired two years
ago after 81 years of reporting ir
America.
He lunched at the National
Press Club as usual yesterday anc
returned to his Georgetown home
He was sitting in a chair in the
study when his wife heard him
fall to the floor. He died few
minutes later. His physician sale
death was due to a heart attack
Cathedral Rites Tomorrow.
Funeral services will be held al
2:30 pm. tomorrow at the Wash.
ington Cathedral. They will bt
conducted by the Very Rev. Johr
w. Suter, dean of the cathedral
Sir Willmott's body will be
cremated and his ashes buried al
the cathedral. ?
Among the expressions of sor-
row at his death was one from
President Truman. At a news
conference today, he said he was
well acquainted with Sir Will.
motifs work and was sincerely
sorry to hear of his death. 3.
To Sir Willmotts friends at the
Press Club. his passing had ar
added element of tragedy. They
had heard him tell an endless
succession of wonderful stories
from his amazingly varied career
His death reminded all of them
that one of the best stories o1
the century-his story-had gone
unWrltten.
But there would have been nc
use in trying to get him to tell II
successively.@ His mind was SC
agile that it always leaped from
fact to ideas. and it was on idea:
that he loved to expound.
Urged to Write Life Story.
For the last four years, his
friend and neighbor. Archie Cor
don of the British Embassy, has
been trying to get him to write
Vie story of his life-and Mr.. Cor
Jon doubts that he ever even
tarted.
Sir Willmott was a man of strik-
ing appearance: his long head
and slender frame made him seem
taller than six feet, although he
wasn't. In his last years he was
somewhat stopped. nut through
force OF personality. he dominated
any company he entered
He loved to talk, but his stories
were not anybody's for the asking
as several younger members
learned to their regret. One
young newspaperman who ap-
preached him was treated to a
long story, all in French.
But I don't understand
French" the young man protested
at the end.
II was sure you didn't" said
Sir Willmott and that ended that.
Britain's Best Ambassador.
He was known as Britain's best
ambassador to the United States
and the official ambassadors
leaned on him heavily-with one
exception. Sir Ronald Lindsay,
who had an American wife, felt
he did not need the unofficial
interpreter of America.
Despite the honors that came to
him in 1881. when he was made a
Knight Commander of the British
Empire, Sir Willmott succeeded
in remaining just plain Bill. 1t
was no affectation for the other
members of the club to call him
that. He was one of their kind
a newspaperman who, after q hard
stint. had slept many a night on
his desk by preference.
Like George Gordon. he was in
clined to scott at the Importance
Of titles. But notification had al
most the devastating effect it hao
on young Gordon. still a school.
boy. who tainted when he hearc
that the unexpected death of ar
uncle had made him Lord Byron
Willmott Lewis was playing rumm,
in the Press Club during the holi.
days when the Ambassador tele.
phoned to tell him he was on tn.
Kings New Year honors list. Hi.
friends say Bill turned white.
The dinner party that $50 ol
his newspaper friends gave hin
in celebration of his knighthooc
is still talked about. The invi.
tations read Decorations" Every
one wore one. Some were badge.
of the 1928 national convention
Others were Coolidge and Hoover
campaign buttons.
He liked to show off, both IL
his conversation and in his lee.
lures, with many a quotation
cleaned from his own extensiy,
reading.
1895 Address Remembered.
In 1886 he was asked to ad
dress the annual luncheon OF tn
Associated Press. The editor
and publishers remembered sev
eral things he had to say. H
started out by quoting Finle,
Peter Dunne's, THE duty of +,
newspaper is to comfort the af
fiicted and aff1ict the comfort
able"
with that" he said, II hearth
agree"
He went on to say that eth
owner of a group of papers ha
more absolute responsibility i
the use of power than any othe
living man." and "the DANCE
which confronts what we call free
dom. of the press is not chief
from without-for that we ca
resist-but from within"
AS for the international functio
of the press, he said: There wa
a time when peoples did not lik
each other because they wer
strangers. How is it today the
do riot like each other when tler