London - With his pinstripe suit, big cigar and Tommy Gun he could almost be a Chicago mobster rather than British prime minister.
The Germans seized on a wartime photograph of Winston Churchill to claim the great leader was no more than the kind of gangster who favoured the Thompson submachine gun.
But Churchill’s purpose in posing for the picture was as deadly as the weapon he is carrying which, remarkably, has almost certainly been found after being thought lost following the Second World War.
The prime minister used the gun to inspire a beleaguered Britain during the dark days of the war. This photo was taken in 1940 when he visited troops to raise morale as the country appeared to be on the brink of invasion by Hitler.
Many were calling for peace talks with the Germans in the face of the apparently unstoppable Nazi invasion of Western Europe. But Churchill ordered that Britain would fight on and toured the country to rally the forces manning defences. It was while inspecting troops near Hartlepool in July 1940 that Churchill posed with the Tommy Gun.
The inspirational image survives, but the iconic weapon was thought to have disappeared – until now.
A museum in Essex has laid claim to uncovering the gun which it received as part of a batch of more than 700 weapons for display from the Ministry of Defence. Churchill’s Tommy Gun can now be seen as part of the Donnington Collection at the Combined Military Services Museum in Maldon. MoD Donnington in Shropshire is the main weapons centre for the armed forces where used firearms are refurbished, sold or scrapped. The Donnington Collection shows weapons used and captured by the Army during the 19th and 20th centuries. Clive McPherson, military historian at the musuem, has painstakingly researched the Churchill Tommy Gun and is confident it is the one in the picture.
He said: “The gun came to England from America in the first batch sent in early 1940 which were used for propaganda purposes.
“When we realised we had it here in our possession it was an incredible feeling. The picture inspired the British people as it was Churchill saying ‘’I will fight for this country in its darkest hour’’. The guns were moved around the country for photographs to give the impression that the troops were all carrying them but in reality there were only about 400 in the country.”
The museum holds two of the four thought to remain from that first batch.
Mr McPherson added: “I am about 80 percent certain it is the Churchill Tommy Gun. The gun he held would have been looked after and passed on to Donnington. It is difficult to say for certain, but it is more likely to be than not.” - Daily Mail