Churchill trip led to famous photograph

In January 1959, the proprietor of the Daily Express, Lord Beaverbrook, became convinced his good friend, Sir Winston Churchill, was departing for Marrakech in Morocco to die – so he instructed Stafford and Express photographer Mike McKeown, to rush there at once.

The Mamounia Hotel where they all stayed was, and still is, one of the most luxurious in the world, so it was not all bad news.

Sir Winston and Lady Churchill arrived in a plane lent to them for the occasion by Aristotle Onassis.

The first thing off it was a crate of Pol Roger champagne, and with nothing else to do, McKeown snapped it for the record and sent it to London, where it was splashed it in a William Hickey diary piece across three columns entitled: “Of course, he took his own champagne along!”

This was seen by Christian Pol Roger, who immediately ordered 3,000 copies of the newspaper and sent a case of champagne to Stafford’s office. Needless to say, when he returned from Marrakech three weeks later, not a drop was left.

Meanwhile, Churchill played poker and made excursions to paint the local scene – with no sign of failing health.

One day the limousine took Churchill to the walls of the city, where he was painting.

Stafford and McKeown, already known to Churchill’s entourage, followed at a discreet distance.

McKeown could not resist taking a snatched shot or two of Churchill’s unmistakable backview and giving the roll to Stafford. They then asked permission to take photos, which was given. That photo went round the world and was used as a memorial stamp when Churchill really did die on January 24, 1965 – six years after Beaverbrook had predicted.

Years later, while passing through Epernay with his wife Barbara, Stafford called at the office of Pol Roger. Christian Pol Roger was there and recalled his joy at the publicity he’d received. On leaving, the Staffords found two more crates of champagne in the boot of their car.

Later still, Stafford returned to Marrakech and the Mamounia when Churchill’s granddaughter, Celia Sandys, made an American documentary film about her travels with her grandfather.

Christian Pol Roger had told her about Stafford’s fruitless death watch and she asked him to take part in the filmed reconstruction of that visit and the taking of the famous picture.