This Item Has Been Sold
Framed World War II TYPED LETTER SIGNED by Winston Churchill
”...warmest thanks for the services rendered by the Military Police during my stay in Marakech.”
1944
(7 1/4 x 9 1/2 inches)
Item Number: 10352
Description
On embossed letterhead of the Prime Minster, 10 Downing Street, Whitehall, dated“New Year, 1944:
Dear Captain Strecker,
I wish to send you my warmest thanks for the services rendered by the Military Police during my stay in Marakech. The efficient yet unobtrusive way in which they carried out their duties added greatly to my comfort and convenience. I would be obliged if you would convey this expression of my appreciation to the officers and men, both uniformed and in plain clothes, who are employed under your command.
Yours very truly,
[In ink:] Winston S. Churchill
In the wake of the Cairo conference, with planning for Operation Overlord (D-Day) just heating up, Churchill suffered two mild heart attacks. On December 27, 1943, he flew with his wife Clementine from Carthage to Marakesh for three weeks of rest at Villa Taylor; “Flower Villa,” as he and FDR had referred to it during their time together there. “I propose to stay here in the sunshine till I am quite strong again,” Churchill informed Lord Beaverbrook, who flew in from London to join him. Churchill would be visited during this stay by every military figure of importance to him, from Montgomery and Eisenhower, to De Gaulle. As he wrote to FDR, “Flower Villa is perfect. The weather is bright, though cool. The cook is a marvel. We go for picnics to the mountains. Last night Eisenhower was with us on his way to you, and I had long talks with him. Montgomery is here now. I think we have a fine team, and they certainly mean to pull together.”
The letter is in very good condition, very lightly foxed, with a file hole-punch at the upper left corner that has been professionally sealed. The letter has faded a bit with age but is quite lovely overall. It is here matted and superbly framed (17 1/2 x 23 inches overall) with a handsome vintage press photograph of Churchill taken during his convalescence.