Incomplete.

Churchilliana.

Amongst Boer war papers found in a tin trunk, in the possession of the De Souza family, were 3 manuscript items which appear to have been written by Churchill during his imprisonment in Pretoria in November 1899. They are in ink on lined paper with pencil and ink emendations. Reference is made to them in the foreword of the book No charge for delivery by C.W.L. de Souza and one of them is quoted on pages 91-92.

The items consist of drafts of 3 telegrams to (1) the Morning Post, London (2) Balusters, London and (3) Posterity, London. The first two are on the same sheet and are brief, consisting of 3 lines and 1 line respectively, which give the bare facts of his capture and imprisonment; the third runs to 3 pages, mentions his capture and describes the casualties during the engagement and his own feelings about the war. Balusters and Posterity must have been telegraphic addresses in London. The drafts are undated but are accompanied by a letter in Dutch, dated 22 November 1899, from Dr. Jan Willem Boudewyn Gunning (one of a Board of management of it who administered the officers prison-of-war camp in the State Model School, Pretoria) to Louis de Souza (Secretary of State for War in Krugers cabinet and also a member of the Board of Management).

In this letter, Gunning recommends the censorship of certain words which might persuade the imperial government to send more troops from Britain and India to fight against the Boers. He also accuses Churchill of continual jingoism.

Churchill was captured on November 15, arrived at Pretoria on November 18 and he set to work on the same day to persuade the Boer authorities to release him as a non-combatant. At the same time, he appears to have attempted to inform the world of his position but certain passages in his telegrams caused Gunning to forward them to the Secretary of State for War with a recommendation that certain lines be deleted. On the draft telegram these lines are in fact struck through in pencil, but are still legible.

There is no evidence in this country that these telegrams were ever sent and the fact that the drafts have been discovered amongst De Souzas other papers suggests that they were filed without actions being taken. This appears to be substantiated by the fact that Churchill's own account of the journey of the armoured train, published by the Morning Post on 1 January 1900 and later reprinted in his book London to Ladysmith via Pretoria, is that dispatched by him from Durban in late December. (R. Churchill Winston Churchill v.1., p.461).

The handwriting in these drafts has been compared with real and facsimile versions of Churchills script. The similarities are so great as to make it a reasonable assumption that the drafts were written by Churchill.