7005 - Winston Churchill War-Dated Typed Letter Signed, Praising a Calypso Song Celebrating the 'Scuttling of Admiral Graf Spee'

Winston Churchill War-Dated Typed Letter Signed, Praising a Calypso Song Celebrating the 'Scuttling of Admiral Graf Spee' World War II-dated TLS, signed “Yours sincerely, Winston S. Churchill,” one page, 6.25 x 8.5, Admiralty, Whitehall letterhead, March 28, 1940. Letter to Major Sir Hubert Young, then governor of Trinidad, written while Churchill was serving as First Lord of the Admiralty, in full: “I was very pleased to have your letter of February 15. ‘The Scuttling of Admiral Graf Spee’ is a refreshing little poem. I am so glad to hear that you are now better.” Churchill adds the salutation in his own hand. Archivally double-matted and framed with a full-length portrait of Churchill descending the stairs at 10 Downing Street, to an overall size of 18 x 15. In fine condition. The German ‘pocket battleship’ Admiral Graf Spee had inflicted severe losses on British merchant shipping before being intercepted by the cruisers Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles at the Battle of the River Plate on December 13, 1939. Following the engagement, she took refuge in Montevideo, Uruguay, and was scuttled by her own crew outside the harbor on December 17. Her destruction caused jubilation in London and was celebrated in the Trinidadian calypso that Young sent to Churchill. The victory provided a welcome boost to British morale during the early months of the war.