February 7, 2012

THE DORSET ECHO, 6 February 2012—A previously unseen photograph of Winston Churchill on a horse following his daring escape form a prison camp during the Boer War is up for auction at Duke’s in Dorchester.
Previously unseen photograph of Churchill following his daring escape from a prison camp
Sitting astride his grey mount in 1899, the 26-year-old future Prime Minister is shown wearing a suit and tie and has on a wide-brimmed hat.

He has a notably slim figure after his ’60 hours of misery’ trying to find his way back to British lines.

He had gone to South Africa in 1898 as a newspaper war correspondent and was captured in November the following year.

He was part of a scouting expedition on an armoured train when it was attacked.

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Churchill’s heroics led to speculation that he would receive the Victoria Cross.

He was taken to a prison camp in Pretoria but a month later he made his escape and travelled 300 miles to safety.

The picture has been consigned for sale by the descendants of Arthur Knight, a trained photographer who was the son of pioneer diamond miner William Knight.

It shows Churchill surrounded by men of The South African Light Horse Regiment and on the back of the photo it says ‘Winston Churchill after Escape’.

Andrew Marlborough, from Duke’s said: “This could be a major find.

“Our research so far suggests that this is an unrecorded photo.”

The sale is on April 12.

Read the entire story at The Dorset Echo

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