An affectionate letter from Sir Winston Churchill to his first great love has come to light.
The future wartime prime minister was a 22-year-old junior officer when he met Pamela Bulwer-Lytton (nee Plowden), Countess of Lytton, in India in 1896.
He was instantly infatuated, and told his mother in a letter on October 26, 1896 that she was ‘the most beautiful girl I have ever seen – bar none’.
They dated for several years and the future Prime Minister is said to have proposed marriage to her in a punt on the river at Warwick Castle.
Although she declined, a letter has now revealed that they were still good friends 60 years later.
In the letter, dated July 13, 1957, he refers to her as ‘dear Pamela’ and signs off with: ‘You were wonderful as a companion.’
Winston Churchill was a 22-year-old junior officer when he met Pamela Bulwer-Lytton (nee Plowden), Countess of Lytton, in India in 1896
An affectionate letter from Sir Winston Churchill to his first great love has come to light. He was a 22 year old junior officer when he met Pamela Bulwer-Lytton
Churchill also comments on the death of the British physicist Frederick Lindemann, his scientific advisor during World War Two.
He wrote: ‘Poor ‘Prof’ was a great sorrow to those who knew him & worked with him.
‘We had a jolly dinner together notwithstanding.’
Lindemann supposedly often quarrelled with other advisers and bureaucrats, but maintained a close friendship with Churchill which began in the early 1920s.
They saw each other almost daily during the war and also worked together during Churchill’s post-war peaceful administration.
The one page handwritten letter, marked ‘private’, has been signed with his initials WSC and was sent from his Kent country house Chartwell.
It is now being sold by a private collector with International Autograph Auction, of Malaga, Spain, where it is expected to fetch £1,500.
Auctioneer Francisco Pinero said: ‘The letter from Churchill to his early lover is of interest to collectors as it is a far more personal letter than those that are usually encountered, which tend to be much more formal.
‘He felt personal sorrow at the death of his colleague Frederick Lindemann, which had occurred ten days earlier.’
June 1961: Sir Winston and Lady Churchill leaving their Hyde Park Gate home for an Ascot race meeting
Pamela married Victor Bulwer-Lytton, the 2nd Earl of Lytton, in 1902, with Churchill tying the knot with Clementine Hozier six years later.
Churchill, who was serving with the 4th Hussars, was first introduced to Pamela at a polo tournament in Hyderabad.
Their first date was an elephant ride through Hyderabad, and afterwards he frequently dined with the Plowdens, providing a welcome change from Army rations.
On November 28, 1898, Churchill wrote a letter to her from Egypt in which he touched on a sensitive topic in their relationship.
He wrote: ‘One thing I take exception to in your letter. Why do you say I am incapable of affection? Perish the thought. I love one above all others.
‘And I shall be constant. I am no fickle gallant capriciously following the fancy of the hour. My love is deep and strong. Nothing will ever change it.’
The pair corresponded while Churchill was stationed in South Africa during the Second Boer War but when they both returned to England, she turned down his offer of marriage.
Churchill later met his wife, Clementine, at a ball in 1904, before meeting her for a second time at a dinner party in 1908. He proposed that same year.
Pamela married Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton, in 1902 at St Margaret’s Church in Westminster.
The couple lived in India for periods throughout their marriage, including when Victor was Governor of Bengal from 1922 to 1927.
A society beauty, Pamela appeared on the front page of County Life in 1911 alongside her youngest daughter, whose full name was Lady Davidema Katharine Cynthia Mary Millicent Bulwer-Lytton.
Pamela was later appointed Dame of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.
She was also awarded the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, which is the only British order of chivalry exclusively for women.
She died in 1971, six years after Churchill’s passing.
The sale takes place tomorrow.