The Second World War, a full set of six British first editions, inscribed in every volume by Churchill to his cousin, with correspondence and emendations by Winston S. Churchill - 1948

London: Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1948. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. This remarkable full set of British first editions is inscribed in each volume by Churchill to his first cousin, Captain Oswald Moreton Frewen.  The set also bears three letters to Oswald from two of Churchill's private secretaries, as well as Oswald's emendations.  Four of the volumes (I, II, III & V) are inscribed and dated in the year of publication.  Volume IV is inscribed in 1952, and the sixth and final volume is inscribed simply "Oswald by Winston".  In Volume I, beside his own name in Churchill's inscription Oswald wrote: "King's Harbour Master | Scapa Flow | March '39 to Sept '42" and beside Churchill's signature "First Lord of the Admiralty | & | Prime Minister of Britain".  Volume III bears a letter to Oswald from Churchill's private Secretary Cecily Gemmell on Chartwell stationery regarding Oswald's suggested emendations and returning the book to Oswald with Winston's signature.  Volumes IV and V each bear letters from Churchill's Private Secretary Jock Colville on 10 Downing Street stationery regarding Oswald's suggested emendations.  Volume IV also includes the original franked 10 Downing Street envelope in which Colville's letter was sent.  In Volume V, Oswald hand copied the lengthy letter from himself to Jock Colville that prompted Colville's reply and also penciled margin comments on pages 68, 484, 518, and 551.  Oswald Moreton Frewen (1887-1958) was first cousin to Winston Churchill (1874-1965).  His mother Clara (1851-1935) was the eldest sister of Churchill's mother, Jennie (1854-1921).  Oswald was the youngest of three children born to Clara Jerome Frewen and Moreton Frewen.  Oswald attended Eton and then joined the Royal Navy in 1902, his "first and only love in the realm of vocation."  (Sailor's Soliloquy, Concluding Note by Leigh Holman, p.246)  Oswald was present in every naval engagement in the North Sea during the First World War and, after the war, served for a period at the Admiralty assisting preparation of the official naval history of the war.  Oswald left the Navy in 1922 for careers in journalism and the law, but returned to active service in the Navy in 1939, the same year that Winston returned to the Government as First Lord of the Admiralty.  Oswald became King’s Harbour Master of Scapa Flow, a post he held from March 1939 to September 1942, also playing a role in the Algiers and Normandy landings and finally retiring from the Navy in 1945 with the rank of Captain.  In his retirement years, Oswald read and annotated cousin Winston's history of the First World War and closely followed the publication of Winston's history of The Second World War and kept in touch with his cousin.  In 1949, Oswald and his sister Clare were Christmas guests at Chartwell.  (Gilbert, Volume VIII, p.498)   On 22 August 1950, Churchill wrote to Oswald about trying to complete the fourth volume: "I have had to give up all my holiday," he complained, and stated "Volume IV is a worse tyrant than Attlee."  (Gilbert, Volume VIII, p.548)  As this set attests, Oswald chose to congratulate Winston on his completed volume by sending him corrections!   Oswald had a childless marriage late in life.  These books come to us from Oswald's great-nephew.  The set is exceptional for content, rather than condition.  All six original bindings are sound and tight, but scuffed and a bit worn, consistent with the fact that they were diligently read by Churchill's cousin.  The contents bear modest spotting, mostly confined to page edges.  Top edges are sunned to various shades of pink.  The only remnant of the original dust jackets is the front flap text of the Volume III jacket, affixed to the Volume III front pastedown.  We find no previous ownership marks in the set other than the aforementioned author inscriptions, comments by Oswald, and correspondence from Churchill's private secretaries.  The set is housed in two stout, dark red cloth slipcases. Bibliographic reference: Cohen A240.4(I-VI).a, Woods/ICS A123(ba), Langworth p.264.