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(CHURCHILL, Winston S.) [GIBB, Andrew Dewar]
With Winston Churchill at the Front. By Captain X.
First edition and only edition of this extremely uncommon account of Churchill's time at the Front. Gibb describes how on the news of Churchill's appointment to the regiment 'a mutinous spirit grew' but on the first day of his new appointment, he won completely won them over; " …he gathered the officers together and announced solemnly: 'War is declared, gentlemen, on the lice.' This was followed by an erudite and dramatic lecture on the origin, growth and nature of the louse, with particular emphasis on the decisive role it had played throughout history as a vital factor in war. The officers were not only amused but impressed… After that the ice was broken and the battalion set to work to 'delouse' itself with scrubbing brushes and hot irons …Winston was hardworking, cheerful and bursting with new ideas. The spectacle of a great creative mind being focused full strength on the humble needs of a small battalion provided the officers with plenty of excitement. In an amusing little booklet With Churchill at the Front, Captain Gibb describes the period under Winston as his 'most treasured war-memory.' Apparently he was a man entirely devoid of fear. Captain Gibb describes an occasion when Churchill suggested that they look over the parapet to get a better view. They felt the sickening rush of air as shells whined overhead, and then he remembers Churchill saying dreamily: 'Do you like war?' 'At the moment,' wrote Gibb, 'I profoundly hated war. But at that and every moment I believe Winston Churchill revelled in it. There was no such thing as fear in him." (Cowles Winston Churchill, p.210-1) Gibb graduated from the University of Glasgow, and was called to the Bar in 1914. He served with the Royal Scots Fusiliers throughout the Great War, Officer Commanding D Company, 6th RSF 1915-6, Captain and Adjutant, 1916. After the war he practised law in England and lectured at Edinburgh and Cambridge, publishing a number of text-books. He was a founder member of the Scottish National Party, and from 1937 to 1939 Regius Professor of Law at the University of Glasgow, and from 1945-7 was Dean of the University's Law Faculty.
Duodecimo (163 × 91 mm). In original pictorial card wraps. With the glassine dust jacket, in the plain card slipcase. Portrait frontispiece of Churchill in his adopted poilu's helmet and imperméable. Jacket with one or two small nicks and a short tear on the lower panel, but minimal loss, the slipcase a touch creased on the spine, but overall a remarkably well-preserved copy of this fragile piece.
