Winston Churchill | letter signed, to Tom Clarke, angrily outlining his editorial shortcomings, 21 July 1933

Sir Winston Churchill

Typed letter signed, with autograph salutation, subscription and docketing (''Private & Personal''), to Tom Clarke,

angrily accusing him of printing ''spiteful fabrications'', declaring his surprise to see Clarke ''inventing and printing so many baseless statements'' about Churchill, which he proceeds to enumerate and refute: one being the allegation that he was ''engaged in some political intrigue with Sir Warden Chilcott'' (''...I...have not visited his house for more than twenty years...''); second, that he was ''concerned in a movement with Captain Guest'' (''...utterly untrue...I do not agree with him...''); and third, referring to ''the Royal copyright'', that he was thinking of publishing his letters to King Edward [VII] when he was Home Secretary (''...nor do I even possess copies of these letters...''), 2 pages, text on rectos only, 4to, 11 Morpeth Mansions, Westminster, 21 July 1933, mounted, framed, and glazed (400 x 555mm), pin holes and stains

"...The habit of writing things that are not true about people one does not like politically is a bad one, and I am surprised that an Editor of your standing and character should countenance a campaign of spiteful fabrications which violate the ordinary decencies of English journalism..." 

Tom Clarke was editor of the News Chronicle. He recalled this dressing down by Churchill in his reminiscences, where he admitted that ''Winston was justifiably angry'' as he had neglected to exercise ''the editorial blue pencil on contributions written by people [he] should have remembered were his political enemies'', but that Churchill's tone did him discredit, ''revealing Winston's disrelish of criticism and an oversharp sense of former authority and office''. Churchill seems to have regretted his unusually intemperate tone: when Clarke sent a mollifying response to Churchill, he received a reply that Clarke considered "the essence of kindliness".