Sandys Family Genealogy & History

Duncan Edwin Duncan-Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys, was a prominent British politician and Conservative minister in the 1950s and 1960s. He was instrumental in promoting European unity post-World War II, co-founding the European Movement. Sandys held significant roles, such as Financial Secretary to the War Office and Minister of Works. Notably, he was a son-in-law of Winston Churchill and played a crucial role in defense strategies against German flying bombs and rockets during WWII. A supporter of European integration, he established the United Europe Movement in Britain in 1947.

Born on 24 January 1908 in Dorset, Duncan Sandys was the son of George John Sandys, a Conservative MP, and Mildred Helen Cameron. His parents divorced when he was 12, and his mother remarried Frederick Hamilton Lister.

Edwina Sandys, born on December 22, 1938, is a renowned English artist and sculptor, celebrated for her impactful visual works. Her career began in 1970, leading to significant creations like "Breakthrough," featuring segments of the Berlin Wall, and the innovative "Millennium Arch" at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Sandys is also known for "Christa," a thought-provoking sculpture of Jesus as a woman, representing female suffering. Her achievements include being honored with an MBE in 1984 for her contributions to British cultural interests in New York.

Sandys is the granddaughter of famed statesman Sir Winston Churchill, and the daughter of Baron Duncan-Sandys and Diana Churchill. She was married to Piers Dixon, with whom she has two sons, and later to architect Richard D. Kaplan until his passing in 2016.

George Sandys (1578–1644) was a distinguished English traveller, colonist, poet, and translator renowned for his translations of Ovid's Metamorphoses and the Passion of Jesus. His travel narratives of the Eastern Mediterranean significantly enhanced the fields of geography and ethnology. Sandys held an influential role as colonial treasurer of the Virginia Company and was a member of the council when Virginia became a crown colony. His works, including a Paraphrase upon the Psalms and his travel narrative, The Relation of a Journey begun an. Dom. 1610, were widely acclaimed, with praises from literary figures such as Dryden and Pope.

George Sandys was born in Bishopthorpe as the seventh and youngest son of Edwin Sandys, the Archbishop of York. His familial ties included a connection to Sir Francis Wyatt, the governor of Virginia, underscoring his influential family background.

Frederick Sandys, born Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys, was a renowned British painter, illustrator, and draughtsman associated with the Pre-Raphaelites and the Norwich School. Known for his meticulous draughtsmanship, Sandys gained recognition with his satirical print "The Nightmare" in 1857. Throughout his career, he focused on mythological subjects and portraits, influenced by his close associate, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Sandys contributed illustrations to prominent magazines like Once a Week and Cornhill Magazine, his work reflecting the precision and imaginative flair of artists such as Albrecht Dürer.

Frederick Sandys was born in Norwich, where he received early art lessons from his father, Anthony Sands, a painter. His artistic education continued at Norwich School and the Norwich School of Design.