British Airways menu for a mid-Atlantic dinner on the Boeing Clipper flying boat RMA 'Berwick' on January 16, 1942, 4 x 6.5, signed in fountain pen by attendees including Winston Churchill and members of his war cabinet: First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Dudley Pound, Air Chief Marshall Sir Charles Portal, Minister for Aircraft Production Lord Beaverbrook, Senior Assistant Secretary Gen. Leslie C. Hollis, Principal Private Secretary John Martin, and his personal physician Charles Wilson; also signed on the reverse by H. F. Good, a member of the crew. Matted and framed with an original press photo of Churchill preparing to depart from the HMS Duke of York for his visit with President Franklin D. Roosevelt to an overall size of 18 x 11.5; a glass backing allows the reverse to be viewed. In fine condition, with some rippling to the photograph.
Within days of the Japanese surprise attack on the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Prime Minister Churchill undertook a dangerous transatlantic journey on the Royal Navy battleship HMS Duke of York. He arrived in America on December 22, in time to spend Christmas at the White House. On December 26, Churchill gave a historic address to a joint session of Congress to win support for his concept of the war. In public, he seemed to epitomize the 'bulldog' fighting spirit; in private, the strain was taking its toll, and that very evening Churchill suffered a mild heart attack. After concluding his visit, on January 16, 1942, he decided to fly back to Great Britain to save time—this was the first transatlantic flight by a world leader.
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