A reworked statue of Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt will include the return of Churchill’s iconic Havana cigar.
In 1995, to celebrate 50 years of peace, a bronze statue of the two famous leaders from World War II sitting on a bench was unveiled by Princess Margaret in Mayfair, central London, on 2nd May. It was called Allies, and the name couldn’t be more apt; the two men sit and seem to shoot the breeze in a far cry from what their actual conversations must have been like.
Originally, Sir Winston was depicted as holding a cigar in his left hand in this sculpture by Lawrence Holofcener, who recently passed away at the age of 91. And this is only right; the man was seemingly never without one. In fact, it is estimated that Churchill smoked over 200,000 cigars during his lifetime, and in 2015, a partially smoked cigar of his fetched £2,000 at auction.
However, Sir Winston’s cigar has gone missing from the Mayfair statue at some point in the last few years, and it is widely believed that a trophy hunter stole it.
As part of a £10 million makeover of the area, the sculpture, which has become a major tourist attraction, will be updated, and a new cigar will be crafted to fit into the former prime minister’s left hand.
Westminster City Council leader Nickie Aiken said the cigar would be recovered as part of a revitalization project. She noted that when the Crossrail extension opens, the area will see an increase in foot traffic of 60 million people. It’s only fair that Winnie should have his cigar back if so many people are going to see him.