CHURCHILL, Winston S.

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Autograph letter signed, to Walter Long, at the outbreak of the First World War. Churchill, as First Lord of the Admiralty, writes the day after Britain declared war on Germany: "I don't suppose things can ever be the same again in English politics - & I cannot say I am sorry". Churchill predicts a difficult road ahead but expresses confidence that his naval reforms will yield positive results.Walter Long (1854-1924) was a Conservative MP and senior figure in the Party; he later served as Secretary of State for the Colonies (1916-19) and First Lord of the Admiralty (1919-21). Long had written to Churchill expressing his support. Churchill replies, "I am very grateful to you for your letter. Events alone can show whether the Admiralty organisation is sound, & whether the advice I have given the Government was justified. We must expect some disappointments & troubles. But the sailors here are all soberly confident of good results". Churchill had served as First Lord of the Admiralty - the civilian head of the Royal Navy - since 1911, and had reinforced Britain's naval position against Germany, modernizing strategy and preparing for war.The letter is printed in Charles Petrie's Walter Long and His Times (1936, p. 186), and quoted in Henry Pelling's Winston Churchill (1974, p. 196). The latter observes that it showed Churchill "felt that the old issues of peacetime controversy were not merely stilled, but were extinguished, by the outbreak of war". The letter is not printed in th

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