Description:

A highly unusual and interesting Churchill item - In town to enroll recruits for the mounted units to serve in the Boer War, Churchill registers his visit to the Witney Institute along with the 9th Duke of Marlborough, whom he would defeat in a gentlemanly game of billiards on this occasion

WINSTON S. CHURCHILL (1874-1965) Document Signed, "Winston S. Churchill". Visitors Register for the Witney Institute, 7.75" X 9.75", 46 pps., visitor signatures between 1901 – 1920, signed by Churchill January 3, 1902, [Witney, England]. Also signed by Churchill's cousin, the 9th Duke of Marlborough. Black soft cover stamped " Visitors Register" in gilt, scuffed and worn, spine strip missing, a few interior pages loose, heavily soiled, edge wear, large loss to last page. Good condition with a fine Churchill signature on page 3.

The now defunct Witney Institute, was a 'gentlemen-only' social club, visited by Winston Churchill and his cousin, Charles " Sunny" Spencer-Churchill, the 9th Duke of Marlborough, while in town to enroll recruits for mounted units to serve in the Boer War. The next day, Churchill was commissioned as a Captain, Imperial Yeomanry, Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars (QOOH). The QOOH was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army between 1888 and 1922. Its foundation dates back to the formation of a troop of Yeomanry at Watlington, Oxfordshire in 1798. Renamed several times before becoming the QOOH, the regiment served in the Boer War with 40 and 59 Companies of the Imperial Yeomanry and also served in Belgium and France during World War I. Winston Churchill remained an enthusiastic supporter for the rest of his life, having a significant influence on the fortunes of the regiment during both World Wars, and even giving it a special place of honor at his funeral.

The register holds approximately 1,000 visitor signatures between the years of 1901-1920, most of which are accompanied by a member signature in the " Introduced By" column. Further investigation may uncover other signatures of note, and almost certainly Churchill's successful recruits.

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