Major-General SIR George Grey Aston (1861-1938) Signed Letter and personal manuscript of quotations. 4.5" x7" bifold letter is in fine condition. 7.5" x 7.5" manuscript of quotations has piece of a scrapbook page adhered to back. Includes newspaper clipping and biographical information

In a handwritten letter dated 13 June 1923 from Court House, Woodford, near Salisbury, Major-General Sir George Aston KCB (1861–1938), a retired Royal Marines officer and former senior staff officer in South Africa, replies to an unknown correspondent. Aston encloses a single manuscript page of favorite aphorisms from his personal collection, explaining that he has chosen an excerpt from his own 1909 South African speech (widely reported at the time) which argued that professional soldiers are not bloodthirsty militarists but reluctant defenders who understand war’s cost better than anyone. The accompanying sheet compiles stoic and anti-jingoistic quotations from Paul, Zola, Mahan, Kipling, Burke and others, collectively intended to humanize the military profession and counter pacifist stereotypes in the post-Great War era.