Winston Churchill portrait may fetch USD 25k at auction

A rare, signed photograph of former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill dressed in uniform as a lieutenant of the British army is expected to sell for USD 25,000 at an auction.

According to the US-based RR Auction, the photo is signed at the top in ink, "Winston S. Churchill, Lieut. 4th Hussars, Septr. 1898."

In 1899, the 24-year-old Churchill, a lieutenant in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars Regiment of the British Army, sailed for Egypt, where he was to join the 21st Lancers and report on Herbert Kitchener's military campaign in the Sudan for The Morning Post.

After arriving in Cairo, they headed down the Nile to take part in the Battle of Omdurman against the army of Sudanese leader Abdallahi ibn Muhammad on September 2, 1899.

Churchill was critical of Kitchener's actions during the decisive British-Egyptian victory, particularly in his unmerciful treatment of enemy wounded and his desecration of Muhammad Ahmad's tomb.

Back in England by October, Churchill wrote an account of the campaign, published as The River War in November 1899.

A remarkable signed portrait from a foundational period of his youthful military service, just before embarking upon a career in politics.

The bidding for the online auction closes on September 12.

-PTI