LEOPOLD AMERY - AUTOGRAPH - HFSID 81504

LEOPOLD AMERY
Prominent British journalist and statesmen signs his name in black ink
Signature: "Leo Amery" in black ink. 1 page, 4x1, affixed to 7¾x4½ piece of paper. Also attached is the cut off top of the paper he signed, a 4x2 letterhead from the British Colonial Office at Downing Street, London, England. British Conservative politician and journalist Leo Amery (1873-1955) was best known for his advocacy of military preparedness, as well as the future of India and the rest of the British Empire. Amery began his career as a correspondent for The Times during the Second Boer War (during which Great Britain annexed South Africa), and was almost captured alongside a young Winston Churchill as well as contributed to the disposal of British commander Sir Redvers Henry Buller; Amery would go on to write the book The Times History of the South African War (1899). He strayed away from his journalist career to concentrate on politics and went on to be a Member of Parliament, First Lord of the Admiralty, and Colonel Secretary. It was during WWII that Amery began part of Churchill's group as a major critic of appeasing Nazi Germany, and instead advocated for stronger military preparedness not just on the warfront, but also in British colonies; his orations on these topics, and against Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, became famous. He later became Secretary of State for India in the midst of the war, and although he liked Churchill, he claimed he knew "as much of the Indian problem as George III did of the American colonies"; Amery's legacy was that Great Britain should focus more on supporting colonies to become independent nations bound to Britain by ties of kinship, trade, defense and common pride in the Empire, as opposed to Churchill's view that Britain should be the great power in a world based on free trade. Very irregularly cut. Toned. Light surface creases. Otherwise, fine condition.