Churchill- Statesman, Gunfighter, Shooter, Concealed Carrier

[oldbrownhat]

Curious about what Winston Churchill's bodyguard carried, I came across this American Handgunner article by Mas Ayoob on Sir Winston Churchill. A good read

"...Winston Churchill owned a substantial collection of fine guns, including magnificent bespoke shotguns from the finest English makers, and loved to hunt. No one knew his proclivities in firearms better than his long-time bodyguard, Scotland Yard Inspector Walter Henry Thompson. "Churchill offered to pay me five pounds a week as his bodyguard in a purely private capacity. He gave me his Colt automatic to use — and I may say with pride that I am the only man Mr. Churchill has allowed to handle his guns. He is a first-class shot and takes a jealous pride in his personal armory."...

"...Just what did Thompson mean by "first-class shot"? "We set up an outdoor range at Chequers and to this he would frequently repair and fire a hundred rounds or so with his Mannlicher rifle, 50 rounds from his Colt .45, or an equal number from his .32 Webley Scott. He gets well onto the target with all three, but with the Colt Automatic he is absolutely deadly … A gun is something he understands entirely."...
​

 

[Baxter6551]

I once had the privilege of handling Mr. Churchill's personal cased Webley & Scott 9mm. I will share the photos here.

 

[hsguy]

Some interesting photos, General Eisenhower on the far right and Churchill after inspecting American troops.

And another.

I have no doubt he would have used it to great effect had Britin been invaded.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_LncVnecLA[/ame]

 

[Mule Packer]

Another picture of Churchill with firearm. I'm pretty sure that's Walter Henry Thompson on Churchill's left.

 

[Rudi]

IIRC, he carried(and used)a Broomhandle Mauser when he was young and in combat.

 

[Rustyt1953]

 

[oldbrownhat]

Another picture of Churchill with firearm. I'm pretty sure that's Walter Henry Thompson on Churchill's left.

Yup. Identified in the Wikipedia article I think.

IIRC, he carried (and used) a Broomhandle Mauser when he was young and in combat.

There's a stirring account of him using it in the American Handgunner article I linked:

"...In 1898, at the battle of Omdurman in the Sudan, Churchill was a young cavalry officer... "On account of my shoulder (which had been dislocated in India) I had always decided that if I were involved in hand-to-hand fighting, I must use a pistol and not a sword. I had purchased in London, a Mauser automatic pistol, then the newest and latest design. I had practiced carefully with this during our march and journey up the river...

Churchill was part of a cavalry charge under way through a gulley when he found he and his comrades were up against a much larger enemy than they had anticipated: an estimated 3,000 fighters who far outnumbered his own contingent. He told one biographer, "I drew my Mauser pistol...and cocked it. Then I looked to my front. Instead of the 150 riflemen who were still blazing I saw a line nearly (in the middle) 12 deep of closely jammed spearmen — all in a nullah with steep sloping sides six feet deep and 20 feet broad." ...

..Finding himself "surrounded by what seemed to be dozens of men," he "rode up to individuals firing my pistol in their faces and killing several — three for certain, two doubtful — one very doubtful." One was swinging a gleaming, curved sword, trying to hamstring the pony. Another wore a steel helmet and chain-mail hangings. A third came at him "with uplifted sword. I raised my pistol and fired. So close were we that the pistol itself actually struck him."...

Hunching down over his pommel, he spurred his pony free and found his squadron 200 yards away, faced about and already forming up. His own troop had just finished sorting itself out, but as he joined it a dervish sprang out of a hole in the ground and into the midst of his men... "I shot him at less than a yard. He fell on the sand and lay there dead....I found I had fired the whole magazine of my Mauser pistol, so I put in a new clip of 10 cartridges before thinking of anything else."​

 

[oldbrownhat]

And I think was GB Shaw who said, of Britain and America, "Two countries divided by a common language."

 

[Rustyt1953]

And I think was GB Shaw who said, of Britain and America, "Two countries divided by a common language."

That's why dad had me learn to speak hillbilly after we waded ashore.

 

[oldbrownhat]

That's why dad had me learn to speak hillbilly after we waded ashore.

LOL. Nowadays, you'd just Google "Aldeburgh - Appalachia translation" on your phone and you'd be on your way in no time

( I just remembered that Winnie's mum was American. According to winstonchurchill.org, "Jennie Jerome, born in Brooklyn of a mother who was one-quarter Iroquois Indian, was one of the few tattooed women in high society. The dark beauty's tattooing was a snake coiled around her left wrist.")

 

[lawandorder]

Mule Packer , think that is a Sten smg he is shouldering in your image, with magazine out.

Cheap little guns.

 

[DWalt]

The closest high school to my home is Winston Churchill, complete with a large painted Union Jack on the side. I have no idea what connection existed between San Antonio and Churchill, but there must have been something.

 

[Ugly Hombre]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5HL4WsYlio&list=PL5hlwJbTJwSiwx7TucKTsyUDx-4gmG6ND[/ame]

Here is a series of videos on Winston Churchill and his body guard- both of them tough, serious, and dangerous men- old school free world warriors. Walter Thompson wrote a book about his adventures with Sir Winston- when it first came out it was redacted contained to much of the good stuff for the public it seems

Historical Firearms - Churchill's 1911 In May 1915, following the...

According to Thompson- within 100 of Winston and his Colt you were a dead man.

Someone doubted him and he said "A very bloody dead man."

Churchill's Bodyguard by Tom Hickman

The book has been on the rude hovel library want list for years sad I have not snagged it - yet.

Great thread about two great men- thanks for posting OP

 

[oldbrownhat]

Just watched the first video. Superb. Thanks for that

 

[Greyman50]

Just saw that a portrait photo of him was stolen from a hotel in Canada, sad news, there will never be another like him. Will never forget his reply to some hag, she said if he was her husband she would poison his tea. Sir Winston replied, if I was your husband I'd drink it….

 

[oldbrownhat]

Just saw that a portrait photo of him was stolen from a hotel in Canada...

Yes, the famous portrait by Yosuf Karsh was stolen from Château Laurier sometime between last Christmas and Jan.6 and replaced with a reproduction, but the theft was only discovered last weekend.

And that famous exchange was allegedly between Churchill and Lady Astor.

There has been some debate about this exchange when Churchill's biographer said this was more likely to have occurred between Lady Astor and Churchill's friend Lord Birkenhead. However other authors have stated that this retort was said by Churchill.

"Winston, if I were your wife I'd put poison in your coffee."

Winston Churchill: "Nancy, if I were your husband I'd drink it."
​

I just came across this one, also with Lady Astor (who was apparently "a piece of work"):

...On another occasion, Lady Astor allegedly came upon Churchill, and he was highly intoxicated. She highly disapproved of alcohol, and she said to him "Winston, you're drunk!" To which he replied "And you are ugly. However, when I wake up tomorrow, I shall be sober, and you will still be ugly!"
​

 

[PALADIN85020]

It's quite evident from this picture that Sir Winston will not be able to cram that drum magazine into the Thompson until he pulls the bolt back to full cock. When the bolt is forward, it blocks the horizontal slot for the drum magazine. He needed some remedial basic instruction on the subtleties of a Thompson SMG. The poor Tommy on the right was probably too scared to correct him.

John

 

[PALADIN85020]

Mule Packer , think that is a Sten smg he is shouldering in your image, with magazine out.

Cheap little guns.

The magazine on a Sten extends horizontally from the left side of the gun, making it very difficult to see from the right side. It may well be in the gun.

John

 

[Walter Rego]

There is quite a bit of information about Sir Winston's guns here. Scroll down for the list. Some serial numbers are listed:

Churchill's guns: the personal armoury of Sir Winston Churchill - The Field

 

[oldbrownhat]

It's quite evident from this picture that Sir Winston will not be able to cram that drum magazine into the Thompson until he pulls the bolt back to full cock. When the bolt is forward, it blocks the horizontal slot for the drum magazine. He needed some remedial basic instruction on the subtleties of a Thompson SMG. The poor Tommy on the right was probably too scared to correct him.

John

I've never handled one, but it looks like the magazine is already in the gun. Could be that for the photo op, they handed him an unloaded gun with a mag already in and the bolt closed. He has a somewhat weak grasp on the mag, as if he's just holding it (while looking at the camera) rather than trying to insert it