Winter Auction 2015 closing February 7
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/8/2015
Before leading Great Britain through its darker hours during World War II, Winston Churchill was a swash-buckling young soldier hell-bent on making a name for himself. After seeing action in Afghanistan, India, the Sudan and Cuba, Churchill was eager to experience the Boer War in South Africa. When his cavalry regiment remained garrisoned in India, Churchill wrangled a commission as a war correspondent for the London Morning Post. His exciting tale of his capture and daring escape from the Boers succeeded in making the name Winston Churchill a household name throughout the Empire. This typewritten letter, dating from his second stint as Prime Minister, was an address to the 1954 National Conference of the South African War Veterans' Association, of which Churchill was vice-president. Composed on a single sheet of 7 1/2" x 9 1/2" engraved Prime Minister stationary, the old lion reminisces on "the comradeship we shared as young men on the South African Veld" and waxes eloquently on "the wide sunlit lands which we shall never forget" - pure Winston. The old soldier signed the bottom of the address in black fountain pen. The sheet shows yellowing from age, some light water marks and has been creased in two places. There are several small tears and paper loss where it looks to have been removed from an album - however none of this seriously affects the signature or the visual attractiveness of this piece. Letter of Authenticity from JSA.