ORIGINAL 1940 WINSTON CHURCHILL SPEECH IN SOLEMN HOUR 78 RPM RECORD WORLD WAR II

$

141

Very rare and historically important, original 1940 RCA Victor Gramophone Co., 78 RPM Phonograph Record of Winston Churchill delivering one of the most iconic speeches of the 20th century – his first address as British Prime Minister known as the “Be Ye Men of Valour” speech.

    This VERY rare and original, 78 RPM Vinyl Record measures approx. 11 3/4” in diameter and is housed in a period, paper record sleeve (overall size of sleeve is 12 1/4” by 12”). It is titled “In a Solemn Hour” / “Speech Broadcast by the Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Winston Churchill, M. P. May 19th, 1940”. This text is printed on the labels along with a photographic, bust portrait of Churchill. The speech is recorded on both sides of the Record (marked “Part 1” and “Part 2”).

    On May 19, 1940, Winston Churchill spoke to the British people “for the first time as Prime Minister in a solemn hour for the life of our country, of our empire, of our allies, and, above all, of the cause of Freedom." He was sixty-five years old, eligible for an old-age pension. He would famously record that, on becoming prime minister, “I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.”

    Winston Churchill's rendezvous with destiny came on 10 May 1940, with his appointment as Prime Minister in Britain's hour of crisis. On that day Hitler launched his blitzkrieg against France, Belgium and the Low Countries, which was to smash all in its path. It was then that Winston Churchill, already 65 years of age and, as he put it, ‘qualified to draw the Old Age Pension’, deployed the power of his oratory. After years during which the British nation had heard only the voices of appeasement and surrender, suddenly a new note was sounded. In a broadcast to the nation on 19 May 1940, he declared: ‘I speak to you for the first time as Prime Minister in a solemn hour in the life of our country, of our Empire, of our Allies and, above all, of the cause of Freedom.’

    After a graphic account of the devastating advances by Nazi forces on the Continent he continued: ‘We have differed and quarreled in the past; but now one bond unites us all — to wage war until victory is won, and never to surrender ourselves to servitude and shame, whatever the cost and agony may be.’

    The effect of his words was electric. Though the situation might appear hopeless, with the French and Belgian armies – which had held firm during four long years of slaughter in the First World War – crumbling in as many weeks in the face of the furious German assault, and the remnants of Britain's small, ill-equipped army preparing to retreat to Dunkirk, and when many, even of Britain's friends, believed that she, too, would be forced to surrender, Winston Churchill — in the memorable phrase of that great American war-correspondent, Edward R. Murrow, ‘mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.’

    With his innate understanding of the instincts and character of the British people, garnered from leading them in battle as a junior officer in conflicts on the North-West Frontier of India, in the Sudan and South Africa, as well as in the trenches of Flanders in the First World War, Churchill inspired the British nation to feats of courage and endurance, of which they had never known, or even imagined themselves capable. In his very first Address to the House of Commons, three days after becoming Prime Minister, he famously declared (13 May 1940): ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.’

    The original, 1940 Phonograph Record offered here allows one to hear the voice of the larger than life, war time political leader Winston Churchill conveying his message of strength and hope to the British people.

    This original, 78 RPM Phonograph Record is in excellent to near mint condition – clean and crisp with no signs of wear or damage of any kind and it appears that the Record has never been played. The period paper sleeve (which advertises a record and appliance store) has some wear and a tear as can be seen in the scans below.

    A very rare and original, 1940 RCA Victor Gramophone Co., 78 RPM Phonograph Record of Winston Churchill delivering one of the most iconic speeches of the 20th century – his first address as British Prime Minister known as the “Be Ye Men of Valour” speech and a fantastic addition to any collection!!!

    Be sure to check out this seller’s other auctions for another historically important 78 RPM Photograph Record – that one a recording of Mahatma Gandhi speaking in English delivering “His Spiritual Message to the World” - which is also being offered for sale this week on eBay!!

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