Speech by the Prime Minister Mr. Winston Churchill to the Pilgrims, January 9, 1941

New York: The British Library of Information, 1941. First U.S. edition, only printing. Leaflet. This is the first edition, only printing of Churchill's January 9, 1941 speech to the Pilgrims Society (referred to as "the Pilgrims" in the title on the cover) welcoming Lord Halifax as British Ambassador to the United States. Founded in 1902, the Pilgrims Society is an Anglo-American organization whose objective is "the encouragement of Anglo-American good fellowship" – a fellowship acutely vital to Britain in January 1941.

The folded, four-panel leaflet measures 6 x 9 inches (15.2 x 22.9 cm), the speech printed on the first three pages. Condition is near-fine. The leaflet is complete with virtually no wear. We note slight age-toning to the perimeter and a hint of spotting along the lower left edge of the front cover and two small spots on the rear cover. The leaflet is protected within a clear, removable, archival mylar sleeve.

Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax (1881-1959) became British Ambassador to the United States after the sudden death of Lord Lothian in December 1940. Halifax, then the Foreign Secretary, was appointed only after both Lloyd George and Oliver Lyttelton had been considered, and is an example of the many personalities and considerations Churchill balanced in his wartime coalition government. In choosing the architect of Chamberlain's appeasement policy as ambassador to the one nation Britain most desperately needed to join the war, Churchill is reported as reasoning that Halifax "would never live down his reputation for appeasement which he and the Foreign Office had won themselves" and that "He had no future in this country. On the other hand he had a glorious opportunity in America, for, unless the United States came into the war, we could not win, or at least we could not win a really satisfactory peace." (Gilbert, Volume VI, pages 952-953) Halifax reluctantly accepted the appointment, allowing the return of Anthony Eden to the Foreign Secretary post, which he had resigned in 1938 in opposition to Chamberlain's appeasement policy. Halifax served as Ambassador to the U.S. until May 1946.

In this address to the Pilgrims Society, Churchill calls Halifax "a man of light and learning" and, perhaps anticipating the effect of his new ambassador's pro-appeasement history, Churchill says: "I have often disagreed with him in the twenty years I have known him, but I have always respected him and his actions because I know that courage and fidelity are the essence of his being..." Of the critical relationship between Britain and America, Churchill states: "The identity of purpose and persistence of resolve prevailing throughout the English-speaking world will, more than any other single fact, determine the way of life which will be open to generations, and perhaps to centuries, which follow our own."

This leaflet is one in a series of Churchill's speeches printed by the British Library of Information in New York. The British Library of Information published thirty-four editions of statements, speeches, and broadcast addresses by Prime Minister Winston Churchill (that number including some variant publications of the same speeches), beginning with his first speech as Prime Minister of 13 May 1940 and ending with the broadcast address of 29 November 1942. These editions were often issued within two or three days of delivery and "reveal the political determination of the British government to bring the inspiration and steadfastness of the Prime Minister and the British nation to an American nation not yet engaged in the war. Indeed, twenty-two of the BLOI speech pamphlets were published before Pearl Harbor." (Cohen, Volume I, p.513, A120)

Reference: Cohen A139, Woods A65