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Auction: 26066 - Historical Documents, Autographs and Ephemera
Lot: 1218

Great Britain / Germany
Prime Ministers
Neville Chamberlain's Visit to Hitler
1938 September 29 The Rt. Hon. Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940) was a passenger aboard a British Airways Lockheed 14 super aircraft that flew to Munich with an official delegation to meet with Hitler, the second of two visits he made.
This archive contains the official British Airways Ltd. counterfoil (numbers 9 and 11) for ticket number BA/WS 18249 issued to the Prime Minister and used by Chamberlain on 29 September, the flight from London to Munich and the return flight, endorsed "Special Flight", bearing rubber stamps in red on issue by British Airways from their office at Terminal House, 52 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1, dated 28 SEP 1938.
With the named outer cover for his "Single Ticket" on blue grey paper, laid down on tissue, as is counterfoil number 11.
Together with counterfoils issued in the names of the official party, viz Sir Horace Wilson (Head of the Home Civil Service), Lord Dunglass (the future Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Parliamentary aide to Chamberlain), Sir William Malkin (legal advisor to the Foreign Office), Mr William Strang, Mr F.T. Ashton-Gwatkin (Foreign Office official, diplomat), Mr G.G.L. Syers, Miss O. Cox, Miss A. David, Mr J. Russell, Sgt. A.W. Lobb, Sgt F.H. Leeder (13 counterfoils in total, 20x11cm each).
On 28 September 1938 Chamberlain advised the House of Commons that there was little chance of war being averted, the crisis over German demands regarding the Sudetenland seemed unavoidable. While speaking the PM was handed a note by Lord Halifax, the Foreign Secretary, informing him that Hitler had invited him to a conference in Munich the following day, to include Mussolini and Daladier, the Prime Minister of France. The invitation was accepted and the airtickets were issued that day for the flight scheduled for the following morning at 08h30, departing from Heston Aerodrome.
The agreement reached involved the partitioning of Czechoslovakia, Chamberlain returned with the delegation on the evening of 30th September declaring "peace for our time", although there was deep scepticism over the outcome of the hastily arranged conference.
Accompanied by a range of relevant photographs, articles, further research information and a decorative paper crepe souvenir titled "Diary of the Crisis May 11-September 29".
An archive of the greatest historical significance, the results of this meeting engulfed the world in a six year war with enormous international ramifications

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Estimate
£12,000 to £15,000

Starting price
£12000