Prime Minister of England.
IN JUNE 1939 CHURCHILL WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT BOMB SHELTERS IN HIS BUILDING
“THE MATTER IS NOT WITHOUT URGENCY.”
Typewritten Letter Signed, WS Churchill, one page, quarto, Chartwell, Westerham, Kentshire, June 20, 1939. On his imprinted stationery, to Colonel Bill, concerning the building of bomb shelters in anticipation of war. With the last line and closing in his hand.
“…As I warned you some time ago there is now statutory authority for the compulsion of flat-owners to make the necessary provision, and I shall be very glad if you can inform me without delay what steps you propose to take to provide shelter in the basements of Morpeth Mansions. The matter is not without urgency. ”
Winston Churchill made preparedness a priority in the summer before the phony war began in September 1939. His biographer Martin Gilbert writes in Winston Churchill: The Prophet of Truth 1922-1939 that “As the summer progressed, Churchill became increasingly worried about the sense of defeatism and despair which he began to feel around him. In his newspaper articles, Churchill continued to argue against defeatism in any form. On June 18, in the News of the World, he insisted that even the ‘atrocity’ of bombing attacks on civilians could be countered and overcome, by adequate shelters and defences, skilful and prompt evacuation, and bold aerial attacks on the incoming and departing bombers.” Morpeth Mansions was the apartment in which Churchill lived in London.
In a blue quarter leather custom folder.
Price: $17,500
This item is associated with these categories in our inventory:
- World Leaders
