CHURCHILL, Winston S.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Autograph note initialled, passed to Walter Long during a wartime Cabinet meeting. A hurried and revealing note written shortly before Churchill resigned from government: "The campaign of 1915 has been decided against the allies by a shortage of munitions. The campaign of 1916 may be decided against the Germans by a shortage of men. But if not, the campaign of 1917 will be decided against England by shortage of Money".Churchill was then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, a diminished office after the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign cost him the Admiralty. He has jotted this note on the back of a "Ch. of Exchequer" envelope, initialled it "WSC", and dated it "26.X.15". He passed it to Walter Long (1854-1924), President of the Local Government Board, who has noted on it, "Given to WHL at Cabinet".Churchill resigned from government on 15 November 1915 and travelled to the Western Front to fight. The "shortage of munitions" refers to the Shell Crisis of 1915. Overall, the note reflects Churchill's deep disillusionment with the government's handling of the war, his certainty that years of fighting lay ahead, and a real fear that the war might be lost.The note was sold at the sale of Long's letters from Churchill at Sotheby's, 20 July 1981, lot 131. It was afterwards in the collection of Steve Forbes, chairman of Forbes Magazine, and presidential candidate in the 1996 and 2000 US elections.

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.