​From the 1890s until the end of his life Churchill carried his father’s pocket watch, nicknamed “The ​Turnip.” He did however sometimes wear a wristwatch, as the above photo shows.

Wristwatches

William Manchester wrote that the wristwatch was a ​”​product of trench war​fare.​”​ Evidently Churchill thought so. Violet Asquith wrote him on 16 November 1915, as he was about to ​leave for the front​ after making his departure speech in the Commons​:

Dearest Winston: One line to say I thought your speech quite flawless – I have seldom been more moved – It was a fine and generous speech – How thankful I am you said what you did about that wicked old lunatic. Is there anything you haven’t got for the Front? Compass, luminous wristwatch? Muffler and tinderlighter? If there is any lacuna in your equipment let me fill it. Goodbye and good luck—God bless you—Yours, Violet.  [The “wicked old lunatic” was Admiral Fisher.]

He continued to make use of wristwatches at least through World War II.

Pocket Watch

Churchill preferred radio to television and pocket watches to wristwatches. He called his gold Breguet pocket watch “The Turnip.” There are several amusing references to it:

Sarah Churchill, A Thread in the Tapestry, 38:

One day at lunch when coffee and brandy were being served my father decided to have a slight “go” at Professor Lindemann, his scientific adviser] who had just completed a treatise on the Quantum Theory. “Prof,” he said, “tell us in words of one syllable and in no longer than five minutes what is the Quantum Theory.” My father then placed his large gold watch, known as “The Turnip,” on the table. When you consider that Prof must have spent many years working on this subject, it was quite a tall order. However without any hesitation, like quicksilver, he explained the principle and held us all spell-bound. When he had finished we all spontaneously burst into applause.

William Manchester, The Last Lion II, 12:

Even at Chartwell his dilatoriness is a source of distress for both his family and the manor’s staff. Once a manservant conspired against him by setting his bedroom clock ahead. It worked for a while, because he scorned that offspring of trench warfare the wristwatch, remaining loyal to his large gold pocket watch, known to the family as “The Turnip,” which lay beyond his grasp. After his suspicions had been aroused, however, the game was up; he exposed it by simply asking morning visitors the time of day.

On Time

Roy Howells (WSC’s male nurse), Churchill’s Last Years, 20-21:

We tried all kinds of ruses to get him out of bed in time and one of them was putting forward every clock in his bedroom. We tried this too often however and eventually he became wise to it. I spotted him one day checking the bedroom clocks against his pocket-watch. In an attempt to beat this manoeuvre I countered by putting his pocket-watch on ten minutes when he was not looking. Still he was suspicious. He used to win in the end by asking someone entering the room, no matter how many clocks he had around him, “Uh-huh, what time is it?” The person naturally told the truth and we were back where we started.

Edmund Murray, Churchill’s Bodyguard, 85:

The morning passed in much the same way as the previous afternoon. As one o’clock approached I looked at my watch. “It’s one o’clock, sir,” I said, “time for lunch.” With great deliberation he pulled out his pocket watch and consulted it. “No,” he said at last. “It’s only five to one. Why do you wish to rob me of five minutes of my life?” “Sorry sir. My watch must be fast … but lunch is at one.”

Churchill’s Breguet

“The Turnip,” Sir Winston’s Breguet, is still in perfect working order. It is in the possession of his great-grandson Randolph, whose late father described it.

It is attached to a heavy gold waistcoat-chain which, at the end has a small round gold case for holding gold Sovereigns, a V for Victory emblem (similar, we believe, to one WSC gave the members of his Wartime Cabinet in 1945), a silver head of Napoleon (of whom he was a great admirer), a keepsake medallion of the (Westminster) Abbey Division by-election of 1924 (which WSC lost by just forty-three votes), a garnet-stone set in a gold heart (the gift of his wife Clementine on their wedding day in September 1908) and another golden heart, which Clementine gave Winston on his 90th Birthday, after fifty-six years of marriage and less than eight weeks before his death.

Reader comments

N.B.: This is a revised, extended version of a 2009 post, which received the reader comments noted below.

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Response: What you see attached to the ring in the lower photo is not a watch but a small round gold case for holding gold Sovereigns (see last paragraph). But Breguet recently sponsored a London Churchill dinner and “the Turnip” is pictured in the program. The pocket watch’s reverse bears the Spencer-Churchill coat of arms and is very old; perhaps Breguet didn’t put their name on all the faces.  —RML

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John, 17 April 2012:

Exhibited at Hillsdale College

In the 1970s, Sarah Churchill was involved in the commercial publication of a series of twenty-eight intaglio drawings by Curtis Hooper entitled, “A Visual Philosophy of Sir Winston Churchill.”  The drawings were based upon famous Churchill photographs and Sarah supplied suitable quotations for each.

Decades have passed since Sir Winston’s death, but Curtis Hooper’s dramatic graphite drawings are as lifelike as ever. “While many only know Churchill for his wartime leadership, the ‘Visual Philosophy’ series is unique in that it contains vignettes drawn from throughout his entire life,” said Churchill Fellow and Hillsdale senior Ross Hatley.

In October and November 2018, the Hillsdale College proudly displayed not only the total collection of intaglio prints, but the original artwork for each. The exhibit was at Hillsdale’s Daughtery Gallery. It was part of a regular rotating schedule of art exhibits by students, faculty, and from the College’s collections. For the current schedule, click here.

Hooper Background

I am often asked about these drawings by collectors wishing to know what they are worth. I am qualified neither to appraise art nor to testify to its genuinity, but I have talked to Mr. Hooper and offer what we know herewith.

Each picture was based on a famous photograph of Sir Winston. They range from childhood to old age. The publisher was Graphic House in New Jersey, and the scheme was quite successful.

Each print carries Churchill quotation and the signatures of Sarah Churchill and Curtis Hooper. Each was numbered, and presented with a debossed coat of arms and Churchill quotation. (One exception was the print at left, which was assigned a quotation written by Sarah.)

The published format was 22 1/2″ x 34 1/2″. Some sources say each print had an edition of 400, some prints indicate 300. In fact the actual number produced is much lower (see below).

Varieties

These prints exist (also signed in pencil by Sarah) in smaller format, about the size of a sheet of U.S. stationery. But they were not part of the original project and appear to be reproductions. Indeed the pencil signature may not actually be hers. Also, some of large format prints now offered could be reproductions.

According to Mr. Hooper, genuine large-format versions must carry both his signature and Sarah Churchill’s. As always with all fine art, one should buy from a reputable dealer who is able to supply provenance and assure authenticity.

Aside from the Hillsdale collection, few full sets of full-size prints exist, but the smaller versions seem to be very numerous. Since the latter are not originals, they carry no authenticity and no great value. The larger prints, properly authenticated, are worth much more.

There is a huge residual interest in the “Visual Philosophy” series today, over four decades on. Many of the finest Churchill collections exhibit them.  I am very glad that Hillsdale has acquired this collection, which will inspire new generations of Churchillians.