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Churchill - Wanted Dead Or Alive: Winston Churchill in the Boer War
R160.00
In stock
Only 1 left
SKU
19933
Quick Overview
This is the story of Winston Churchill's exploits during the Boer War, the springboard from which, overnight, he leapt to fame on the international stage. Within three months of his return he became an MP at the age of 25. Using both British and Boer sources, many previously untapped, Churchill's granddaughter Celia Sandys covers a hitherto neglected part of his life in which he circumnavigated military regulations in order to combine the roles of soldier and war correspondent. Now that the isolation of South Africa has ended, people have come forward in droves to tell the author the stories they learnt at their grandparents' knees. These grandparents recognised in Churchill a courageous ally or a formidable foe. The author has visited campsites, battlefields, and the site of Churchill's incarceration in Pretoria as a POW, and followed the route of his escape to the Mozambique border.
In October 1899, the twenty-four-year-old Winston Churchill set sail from Southampton Docks for South Africa, where he was to cover the Boer War for the London Morning Post. The young Churchill's exploits on the North-West Frontier of India and in the Sudan had already won him a considerable following as an intrepid war correspondent, but for sheer audacity and excitement, nothing would rival his exploits in South Africa. Scarcely two weeks after his arrival in Cape Town, Churchill found him- self on a train, carrying out a reconnaisance mission in enemy-held territory. The train was ambushed by a Boer patrol, and even though he was present only as an observer, Churchill took charge, helping many of his companions to escape before he was captured. Taken as a prisoner of war to Pretoria, he managed to escape, quickly becoming the object of a massive manhunt. Churchill hid from his pursuers in a coal mine and was subsequently spirited across the border. He returned to the fray, participating in the battle of Spion Kop and witnessing the relief of Ladysmith, while enthralling his readers with vivid first-hand accounts of the war's progress.
Churchill's adventures in South Africa propelled him into the international arena, setting the stage for his political career; within three months of his return to Britain in 1900, he had become a Member of Parliament. Celia Sandys, Churchill's granddaughter, retraced his footsteps, visiting campsites and battlefields and interviewing the descendants of those who crossed her grandfather's path-both friends and foes. The fascinating new details she discovered combine with the thrilling events of her grandfather's life to make Churchill Wanted Dead or Alive both a gripping adventure story and a unique insight into the early years of a man who would go on to become one of the world's great leaders.
CELIA SANDYS is a granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill. Her mother was Churchill's eldest daughter, Diana, and her father was Lord Duncan Sandys, the former Cabinet Minister and member of his father-in-law's wartime government.
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| Author | Celia Sandys (Granddaughter) |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Jonathan Ball Publishers |
| Place | Johannesburg |
| Year | 1999 |
| ISBN | 9781868420834 |
| Binding | Paperback |
| Condition | Very Good |
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