Churchill Wanted Dead or Alive

by Celia Sandys

Overview

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. She is married, has four children, and lives in Wiltshire, United Kingdom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781623490676
Publisher:	Texas A&M University Press
Publication date:	10/07/2013
Pages:	292
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

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. She is married, has four children, and lives in Wiltshire, United Kingdom. Sandys has lectured in America, Canada, Japan, and Britain.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

List of Maps xiii

Acknowledgements xv

Preface xxi

Prologue xxv

1 Gateway 1

2 Preparing for War 9

3 Cruising to a Catastrophe 21

4 The Station Yard 32

5 Knight Errant 44

6 The Botha Legend 58

7 Into Captivity 63

8 The States Model School 80

9 Controversy 99

10 Wanted Dead or Alive 116

11 A Soldier Again 133

12 A General on Spion Kop 149

13 Into Ladysmith 167

14 A Lull in the Storm 181

15 Return to Pretoria 192

Epilogue: A Triumphal Progress 209

Reference Notes 217

Bibliography 223

Index 227

Editorial Reviews

"During his nine-month stint in South Africa, Churchill, though officially classified as a noncombatant reporter, managed to send stirring dispatches to the Morning Post, engage in several bloody skirmishes with the enemy, be captured and incarcerated as a prisoner of war, and make a suitably sensationalized, yet nonetheless daring, escape from prison.  Written in a lively narrative style, this affectionate biographical portrait of a very young, very spirited, and very enterprising Winston Churchill succeeds in foreshadowing the magnitude of the renown he eventually achieved.  A rip-roaring good read chockfull of action, suspense, and history."—Booklist

Booklist

"A few years ago, Celia Sandys set herself a daunting task:  Write something fresh and relevant about her famous grandfather, Winston Churchill.  So far, she has succeeded. . . .  In doing so, she is carrying on the family tradition:  The Churchills have a rich and varied literary heritage, much of it focused on the family itself. . . .  The flame-haired, thrice-married Celia became interested in writing about her grandfather, whom she called 'grandpapa,' a few years ago when she found a treasure trove of his letters from ages 6 to 20, which had gone undiscovered by historians. . . .  'I decided to write a book, based on these letters, on his boyhood.'  The result was 'From Winston with Live and Kisses: The Young Churchill,' which revealed his lonely, introspective, sometimes miserable childhood. . . .  Sandys planned next to write about her grandfather's young adult life as revealed through his letters.  On a trip to South Africa, she encountered many people and places that recalled Churchill's career as a war correspondent in the Boer War. . . . Young Winston was captured by the Boers but escaped with a price on his head, hence the title of the lively book, 'Churchill Wanted Dead or Alive.'   . . . glowing reviews of that stirring account with new detail—notable for its depiction of young Churchill, warts and all, as a very human character . . . ."—New York Times

New York Times

A bestseller in the U.K., this portrait of Winston Churchill, written by his granddaughter, unapologetically presents the future prime minister as an action hero in the Boer War. It's rousing reading. Sandys's affection for her grandfather is obvious, but she shows enough of his grandiosity to maintain a reader's trust. In October 1899, at the age of 25, already having seen significant action in India and Cuba, Churchill went to South Africa as a journalist and eventually enlisted to serve. His brashness and his combat experience made him a headache for military commanders. Churchill was captured by the Boers (hence the title) and escaped by climbing out a latrine window. This episode has always been controversial (it figured prominently in Churchill's early p0litical battles) because, although Churchill fulfilled an officer's duty to try to escape, two other officers claimed that he left them behind and compromised their chances for escape. Sandys (From Winston with Love) maintains that her grandfather simply seized an opportunity. Amazingly, Churchill was never injured, though shrapnel and bullets frequently whizzed by his head. Of his disregard for bullets, he wrote, apparently only half in jest, to his mother: "I am so conceited I do not believe the Gods would create so potent a being as myself for so prosaic an ending." The book ends with Churchill returning to England and winning a Conservative seat in parliament two months short of his 26th birthday. Sandys is fully aware of the extent to which her grandfather had a finger to the political winds during his exploits: he sought the limelight as aggressively as he chased adventure. Because of Sandys's brisk narrative, as well as their knowledge of the man Churchill later became, readers will not hold young Winston's ambition against him. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

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