Churchill’s unfinished £900 cigar lights up sale
A CIGAR part-smoked by Sir Winston Churchill in wartime is being sold after being preserved in a glass jar for nearly 80 years.
He gave it to Hugh Stonehewer-Bird after the consul-general had hosted an event for him.
Sir Hugh treasured it up to his death in 1973 and his family kept the memento on display, with a photo and figurine of Churchill.
The On His Majesty’s Service label on the jar reads: “This cigar was smoked by Winston Churchill on August 29, 1944 at Rabat, Morocco, at a dinner party.”
Iconic
Sir Hugh’s family said: “After 50 years in our care we’ve decided it’s time for someone else to enjoy owning it.”
The cigar, figurine and photograph are tipped to fetch around £900 at Hansons Auctioneers of Etwall, Derbyshire, on June 16.
Auction house owner Charles Hanson said: “This is an iconic piece of memorabilia connected to one of Britain’s most famous prime ministers and the Second World War. “Churchill was renowned for his love of cigars and occasionally gave them as gifts to people who had helped him in any way. “People went to great lengths to preserve them for posterity and, in this case, a glass jar has done an excellent job for 79 years. “The original handwritten label provides the provenance collectors like. We hope this item will excel under the hammer.” Churchill was PM from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955. He was rarely seen without a cigar and was renowned for leaving a trail of smoke and ashes in his wake. After trying Cuban cigars while on the island he would get through 10 a day. He smoked in meetings, chewed the cigar ends – and was also known to leave them burning without inhaling. He died aged 90 in 1965.