March 29, 2025

The World of Churchill Collectables

By BRIAN KRAPF

The term “Wilderness Years,” the time between Winston Churchill’s position as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the second Baldwin government until his return as First Lord of the Admiralty in the Chamberlain government, has been considered a misnomer by many. It implies the untruth that Churchill was wandering without direction. Rather, it properly refers to his time without a cabinet position, although he was still MP for Epping with increasing majorities at each election. Churchill used this time to work on Chartwell (his house in Kent), to write books and articles for profit, and to speak in Parliament about the rising German threat of war and Britain’s need for preparedness. Churchill’s “Wilderness Years” were focused and busy, and much material exists from his various public appearances and speaking engagements. 

This large poster is a rare survivor and would have been used at newsstands to attract customers interested in reading Churchill’s recent speech The Causes of War. During the years between the First and Second World Wars, Churchill warned the British people of Germany’s disregard for the armament limitations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. On 16 November 1934, he gave what many consider one of his greatest speeches of this period. Simply titled The Causes of War, the speech was broadcast live via the BBC. Churchill emphasized that the major threat to peace was “a nation which with all its strength and virtues is in the grip of a group of ruthless men preaching a gospel of intolerance and racial pride, unrestrained by law.” The speech was printed verbatim in the BBC’s written publication The Listener on 21 November.

Brian Krapf’s book A Churchill Treasury: Sir Winston’s Public Service through Memorabilia was. published in 2024 and is available in the UK and North America.