CHURCHILL, Winston S.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Autograph letter signed, to a local councillor following Churchill's lecture on the Boer War. Churchill writes as a young Conservative MP to a local politician, after a lecture entitled "The war, as I saw it", which Churchill delivered to the Ealing Green Literary Society on 21 October. Churchill used his Boer War exploits to advance his parliamentary career and establish a national profile. At his lecture in the Victoria Hall - so well attended that some were refused entry - he traced the origins of the South African conflict and recounted his experiences, focusing on his famous escape from a prisoner-of-war camp. Churchill's letter appreciates "the very kind welcome which I received at Ealing". One newspaper observed that "the events narrated were spiced with the humour which contributes so largely to the success of popular genius, and is such a saving quality of platform oratory" (The Hanwell Gazette and Brentford Observer, 26 October 1901).The recipient, Basil Holmes (1856-1940), councillor for Ealing North from 1895 to 1925, is best remembered for his advocacy of public parks. Churchill writes following a grateful missive, "I did not expect, certainly I did not deserve, any expression of thanks... But your letter is most pleasant to read".Provenance: the collection of Steve Forbes, chairman of Forbes Magazine, and presidential candidate in the 1996 and 2000 US elections.

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