Winston S. Churchill

[…]” — With: portrait photograph of Vere Harvey (1945). - After attending Framlingham College in Suffolk, Harvey joined the Royal Air Force in 1925 and served there until 1930. From 1930 to 1935 he was both director of the Far East Aviation Company Ltd and of the Far East Flying Training School Ltd in Hong Kong, and between 1932 and 1935 he also served, with the honorary rank of major general, as an adviser to the Chinese Air Forces in South China. In 1937, holding the rank of Squadron Leader, he became commander of a squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAAF). After the outbreak of the Second World War, he became commodore of No. 615 Squadron of the RAF, which he had founded in 1937, and commanded it, among other engagements, during combat operations in France. During this period he was promoted to Group Captain in 1942 and was simultaneously appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire, before being promoted to Air Commodore in 1944..

I should be glad to advise both on its contents & its publication…” Another advises against representing a department in the House of Lords: “…I would much rather see you a Minister than a Road Board commissionier [sic]. The latter leads no where…” One letter regrets Churchill’s inability to secure a desired outcome on Guest’s behalf: “…after making every effort in my power including fierce personal discussion…” The final letter concerns the Irish Convention: “…If the Convention fails a new view will have to be taken… Personally I do not believe that there will be serious Irish difficulty. The disproportion of strength between the two countries was never more apparent and these are very rough times…”, concluding with an appeal that Guest “…continue to pursue that careful and patient line in personal relationships which we have so often discussed…” and avoid complications pending the Convention’s outcome. Several letters are marked “Private & Confidential”, “Confidential”, “Secret”, “Private”. Nine pages, dust-staining and smudging, creased at folds, 4to and 8vo. Letterheads include Board of Trade, Admiralty, Ministry of Munitions of War, Whitehall. Dated 4 May, 12 December, 15 December 1909, 4 August [19]14, 25 October 1917. ii) Randolph Spencer Churchill Five autograph letters signed (“Randolph.S.C.”), three addressed to Ivor Bertie Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne. The first thanks him for his letter and reports that young Winston is “…progressing most satisfactorily…” after a severe bout of pneumonia in Brighton: “…He had a desperate illness & I never thought he would pull thru… Roose never left him for 3 days & nights & saved his life… never met a doctor so good…”, with political commentary including “…his schemes will be defeated by a large majority… Joe Chamberlain is determined to smash him…” Another expresses hope that Lord Wimborne will preside at Cardiff (“…Lord Bute is very unpopular there…”), while a third apologises for a delayed reply. Two further letters are addressed to Guest’s son, also named Ivor, congratulating him on passing school (“…I felt sure you ought to pass if Eton education was not utterly worthless…”), offering introductions to the Viceroy of India (“…make friends with the Viceroys staff…”), and advising him to take “…a good stock of 5 grain quinine pills…” Sixteen pages, dust-staining and marks, creased at folds, 8vo. Written from Connaught Place, Banstead Manor, Grosvenor Square, dated 25 March 1886 to 1 May 1894. iii) Other correspondence Additional letters addressed to father and son include: – The future George V, thanking Miss Guest (February 1890); – A. J. Balfour, offering commiserations on failing to contest Plymouth (January 1898); – Alfonso XIII of Spain (two letters), including wartime commentary (“…at the Somme your artillery & your air service have been mastering the situation. The losses, except for one or two divisions have not been so enormous as it would be expected for such a push…”); – another letter enclosing the marriage certificate of Josiah Guest and Lady Charlotte Bertie, 1833. Sixteen pages, dust-staining and marks, 4to and 8vo. Written from Sandringham and elsewhere, dated 3 February [18]90 to 7 November 1926. Context “I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THERE WILL BE SERIOUS IRISH DIFFICULTY… THESE ARE VERY ROUGH TIMES”: Winston Churchill advising his cousin on politics and career. This correspondence reveals Churchill’s role as mentor and confidant to his cousin Ivor Churchill Guest, whose mother was Churchill’s aunt, Lady Cornelia Spencer-Churchill. Written after Guest crossed the floor with Churchill to the Liberal Party in support of free trade and was elected MP for Cardiff, the letters show Churchill’s close involvement in Guest’s political decisions. Despite Churchill’s advice, Guest accepted a peerage in 1910 as Viscount Wimborne, later serving as Paymaster-General and Lord-in-Waiting to George V. From 1915 to 1918, during the period of the Easter Rising, he served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, having taken a strong interest in Irish affairs and spoken frequently in the Lords in support of Home Rule. The collection also provides a poignant insight into Winston Churchill’s near-fatal illness in 1886, when, as a schoolboy in Brighton, he came close to dying from pneumonia. According to Randolph Churchill’s letter, only the devoted care of the family doctor Robson Roose saved the boy’s life. Provenance: Private Collection, U.K..

625). On 9 September, the day before this letter was written, the first units of the British Expeditionary Force embarked for France. The connection between Churchill and Graves was forged through Edward Marsh, Churchill’s longtime private secretary and the influential editor of the Georgian Poetry anthologies. Marsh had been introduced to Graves by the mountaineer George Mallory, who taught Graves English at Charterhouse and later championed his literary career. Marsh’s encouragement was instrumental in the publication of Graves’s first volume, Over the Brazier (1916). As established writers, Graves and Churchill maintained a correspondence on literary matters throughout the war and beyond. In 1942, Churchill wrote to Graves expressing his admiration for his historical novels: “…I have read very few books during this war… I find sometimes a book dwells with me for several months, and I read a chapter or two at a time… I am a great lover of narrative, in which art you excel…” (letter dated 2 May 1942, ex Forbes Collection). Graves continued to send Churchill his works, including a copy of The Golden Fleece in 1945, of which Churchill wrote: “…once it gets hold of you, you cannot put it down…” (letter dated 27 November 1944, ex Forbes Collection). Provenance: Christie's, 'Winston Spencer Churchill: The Collection of Malcolm S. Forbes, Jr, Part I', 2 June 2010, lot 111; private collection, UK..

S. C.' to lower edges, glazed, the desk support to the first frame now detached. - The first portrait was one of Churchill’s favorites of himself, and he signed and gifted many high-quality copies of varying sizes. The photographer Vivienne [Florence Vivienne Entwistle, 1889-1982] was a leading society photographer of the day and took Churchill’s portrait many times. Her son Anthony married Churchill’s daughter Sarah in 1949, the families becoming friends..

His proposal to publish the letters on the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar demonstrates his awareness of their symbolic value at a moment when Britain was itself approaching victory in another defining conflict. The accompanying correspondence traces Walter Tower's longstanding interest in Nelson. It includes a 1916 draft letter to the Lord Mayor of London comparing the City's treatment of Admiral Jellicoe with the inadequate recognition afforded Nelson after the Battle of Copenhagen, a contemporary manuscript copy of one of Nelson's letters dated 20 November 1801, the Lord Mayor's reply, and a 1941 letter from Geoffrey Callender, Director of the National Maritime Museum. A highly appealing historical letter uniting two of Britain's greatest wartime leaders—Nelson and Churchill—and illustrating Churchill's profound sense of Britain's naval tradition and historical memory. The accompanying documents provide valuable context for the provenance and significance of the Nelson letters..

Therefore, Churchill's reference to the "pressure of business from the Election" likely pertains to the ongoing political activities and responsibilities associated with the electoral campaign..

The Nitrate position is even more serious than the iron and steel, because in this case the whole supply is seaborne, and the entire process of ammunition filling will come to an abrupt arrest. It is, further, very difficult for me to proceed without any idea of what the future has in store. I failed entirely to obtain any answer on this point from your Department. I have to make an enormous series of arrangements for the supply of the Army which depend absolutely upon Raw Material, and we cannot be told even generally within what limits we may expect to be supplied. I have been pressing for information on this vital point for more than three months without receiving anything in return except your invariable courtesy. I really do not know what to do [...] As it is we weem to be moving forward to a complete administrative breakdown [...]". - On stationery with printed letterhead of the Ministry of Munitions; punched holes at top left corner..

These payments would be in lieu of any royalties. The contract calls for the first portion of the manuscript to be delivered by no later than June 1941, with Churchill obligated to return his advance with interest for failure to do so. Since this is precisely what happened, this paragraph is boldly marked thrice in pencil in the margin. - Churchill's demanding obligations as member of the War Cabinet and then as Prime Minister and saviour of Britain in 1940 did not leave Harrap in a forbearing or forgiving mood when Churchill tried to get out of this contract. Indeed, his growing stature made him all the more valuable as a literary commodity. As called for in paragraph 10 of this document, the matter went to arbitration, with Churchill arguing that he had completely lost interest in the subject of Europe since the Russian Revolution. In any case, he was in no position to do anything about it: "I suppose I have not read a dozen books in the last five years." Besides, he added, writing about Russian relations might injure the delicate wartime alliance with Stalin. More than anything else, however, Harrap's hardball tactics annoyed him. When the publisher offered new contracts with much more generous terms, Churchill curtly refused, saying "I do not want to have any further dealings of any kind with them." Realizing he was beat, Harrap unconditionally surrendered on 7 September 1944, saying "it is distasteful to us, whether we are right or not, to litigate this matter with a man to whom every one of us is so much indebted" (cf. Reynolds, In Command of History, pp. 19-20). Churchill gave back the £1,500 advance with interest and went on to publish his war memoirs with Macmillan and Cassell's. - Somewhat dusty and frayed..