Winston Churchill Gallery

Battle of Abu Klea, 17 January 1885

Battle of Abu Klea, 17 January 1885. Oil on canvas signed and dated lower left: W B Wollen 1896, by William Barns Wollen (1857-1936), 1896. In a race against time to relieve General Gordon, besieged at Khartoum, a relief column under General Sir Garnet Wolseley set out from Cairo in October 1884. Realising that his infantry, travelling in boats up the Nile, might not reach Khartoum in time to save Gordon, Wolseley detached a Desert Column to travel overland by a faster but more dangerous route. On 17 Jan 1885 this Column, commanded by General Herbert Stewart, was attacked by the Mahdists at Abu Klea. The resulting battle was later described by Winston Churchill as the most savage and bloody action ever fought in the Soudan by British troops'. The British square broke and was closed only after desperate hand-to-hand fighting. The British suffered 168 casualties, the Mahdists about 1100. The Column finally reached Khartoum on 28 January, two days after the town had fallen. Date: 1885

© The National Army Museum / Mary Evans Picture Library

Chateau de L'Horizon - Riviera villa of Maxine Elliott

The Chateau L'Horizon, the extensive and luxurious villa built at Golfe Juan on the French Rivera by American actress Maxine Elliott. The villa was designed by Barry Dierks and cost 80, 000 when it was built in 1931. Among its outstanding features were shady balcony windows and a swimming pool with a chute out into the sea. Many famous figures stayed at the villa over the years including Winston Churchill and, in 1936, King Edward VIII. Date: 1936

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

VE Day. Outside Buckingham Palace

Crowds seen cheering and waving outside the gates of Buckingham Palace on May 8th 1945 (VE Day). George V and Queen Mary with Princeses Elizabeth and Margaret can be seen at a distance acknowledging the crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony. They were later joined by Winston Churchill

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10222676

1945, 8th, Balcony, Buckingham, Cheering, Crowds, Distance, Elizabeth, Gates, Historical, History, Margaret, Mary, Out Side, Palace, Princeses, Queen, Ve, Waving