CHURCHILL, Winston S. (1874-1965). Partial typed letter signed (''Winston S. Churchill'') as Prime Minister, 22 May 1945.

CHURCHILL, Winston S. (1874-1965). Partial typed letter signed ("Winston S. Churchill") as Prime Minister, 22 May 1945.

Three pages (incomplete, lacking page one), 240 x 190mm. Emendations in two different hands, punch holes at top, bold, 3-line autograph salutation and signature on page four (minor creases and toning).

Churchill's retained draft of his letter of resignation to King George VI, asking to "bring the present not inglorious administration to a dignified end." Churchill, formally addressing his sovereign in the third-person, asks him to accept his resignation, dissolve the wartime coalition government that had been in place since May 1940, and call a general election. Churchill's coalition partner, Labour leader Clement Attlee, wanted to continue the coalition until October. Churchill – hoping that the public elation of V-E day two weeks earlier would continue and carry him to electoral triumph – wanted a quick vote. "All that has been gained at such sacrifice and hazard, may all be thrown away," he warns, if crucial issues such as the Japanese war and demobilization were held hostage to a general election campaign. "It would be no service to the nation to go forward with a pretence of union which had in fact lapsed with the attainment of complete victory over Germany." He asks for an audience with the King next morning "in order that he may tender his resignation of the various Offices which he now holds, and thus bring the present not inglorious Administration to a dignified end in accordance with the highest constitutional traditions and practice." He ends with an emotional, handwritten salutation: "And with his humble duty remains Your Majesty's faithful & devoted servant & subject, Winston S. Churchill." While the British public retained deep personal affection for Churchill, the Conservative party was another matter. Grievances over domestic policy and appeasement had been building ever since the last general election in 1935. The war years left millions of Britons with a desire for a radical break from the past. The Labour program of national health insurance and expanded social welfare legislation enjoyed wide appeal, while Churchill's warnings about socialism and "Gestapo" tactics backfired badly. Labour won an astounding 61% of contested seats, gaining an outright majority of 145 in the House of Commons. Provenance: Sotheby's London, 13 December 1994, lot 223.

Saleroom Notice
Please note that the signed photo of Churchill and George VI appears for illustration purposes only, and is not included with this lot.

Pre-Lot Text
FURTHER SELECTIONS FROM THE WINSTON S. CHURCHILL COLLECTION OF MALCOLM S. FORBES, JR.