Winston Churchill dodged fatal bout of food poisoning which killed his manservant more than 30 years before Second World War
Wartime PM's close shave was revealed in a personal letter to his servant's widow which is now up for auction
A LETTER by Winston Churchill reveals he once escaped a bout of salmonella poisoning which killed his valet.
The then-under secretary of state wrote in 1907 that he ate the same food as George Scrivings, who died of choleraic diarrhoea in just 16 hours.
A never seen before letter by Winston Churchill has emerged to reveal how he once escaped a fatal bout of food poisoning
Churchill sent the letter to Scrivings’ wife from Sudan, where he and the valet were on an official trip.
He also assured her: “His end was peaceful and swift.”
Nottingham auctioneer Richard Davie, who is selling the letter for a collector, said: "This is a very personal letter written by Winston Churchill at a time of great grief for both George Scrivings' widow and himself.
"Churchill was very close to the couple.
"Mrs Scrivings also worked for the Churchills and after her husband's death he went to great lengths to take care of her.
"Judging by the fact that the party all ate the same food at the same time it was something of a close shave for Churchill.
"It is a very poignant and touching letter."
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The little-known episode reveals a previously-unknown brush with death Churchill had which could have changed the course of history.
It was not the first occasion Churchill experienced a lucky escape.
As an 18-year-old he was almost killed when he plunged 30ft off a footbridge in Bournemouth, Dorset, and was rendered unconscious for three days.