Cigars presented by Winston Churchill to a trusted bodyguard are expected to sell for up to £4,000 at auction this week <June 4>.
The wartime leader gave the smokes to Herbert “Nobby” Clarke, part of his inner security detail, after he was admitted to Middlesex Hospital in 1962, then aged 87, following a fall on holiday in Monte Carlo.
Nurses at the London hospital, where Churchill spent 54 days recovering from a fractured hip, reported he kept a bottle of both champagne and brandy by his bed,
And, despite the medical environment, continued to puff on his much-loved cigars.
On several occasions the ardent smoker even encouraged his surgeon, Sir Herbert Seddon, to take up the habit – while dodging sessions of hated physiotherapy.
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers where the cigars – one half smoked – go under the hammer on June 4, said: “Given his widespread adulation, it seems medical staff were clearly prepared to indulge their famous patient and bend the rules.
“Nobby clearly built up a close relationship with his famous charge who bestowed on him the odd cigar, both smoked and unsmoked, for him to pass on to his friends.
“Nobby duly gave this pair to a pal in whose family they have remained ever since.”
Both cigars are housed in a wooden case marked Claasen – Churchill, with the handwritteninscription: “Donated by Sir Winston Spencer Churchill M.R. when in Middlesex Hospital as a patient in 1962.”
When Churchill was discharged, crowds and the press flocked to pay tribute to the beloved British statesmen.
The scene is captured in a black-and-white photograph, included in the sale, which shows Churchill puffing on a cigar diligently watched by Clarke on the far left.
Charles Hanson continued: “How tantalising to think that the cigar in this photo is the very one appearing in our sale.”
Clarke, who had served as the wartime leader’s protection officer from 1948 to 1950, was called back into service when Churchill’s fall tiggered Operation Hope Not – originally conceived as a plan for the leader’s funeral.
Ignoring French medical advice, Churchill insisted on returning to Britain, telling his private secretary, Anthony Montague Browne, he wished to “die in England”.
While Churchill’s wartime bodyguard Walter H. Thompson became well-known through memoirs and television appearances less is known about the men who protected the former prime minister during his retirement and declining health in the 1950s and 1960s.
Charles Hanson continued: “The survival of both the cigars and the accompanying photograph offer a fascinating glimpse into that little-known world of discreet protection officers, political contingency planning and Churchill’s final public appearances.”
After his discharge Churchill lived for another two years splitting his time between his Hyde Park home and his Kent country retreat at Chartwell.
Charles Hanson said: “These cigars were not simply collected by an admirer – they were presented personally by Churchill to a trusted security officer who stood beside him during one of the most sensitive periods of his later life.”
With each cigar having a pre-sale guide price of £1,500-£2,000, both are expected to attract strong interest from collectors of Churchilliana, political memorabilia and historic military and police artefacts, he added.
Auction Details
Auction: The Derbyshire Summer Fine Art Auction
Auction date: 4th June 2026 | 10am
Location: Hansons’ Derbyshire Saleroom
Auction contact: [email protected]
Catalogue/bidding: www.hansonslive.co.uk | www.the-saleroom.com
