A signed portrait of Winston Churchill taken by John Topham at Chartwell. 1953 The story behind the picture: Churchill burned his hand whilst lighting a cigar. The press photographers were all there, desperate for a picture. They waited all day in freezing weather and one by one they left. The last to remain was the looming figure of John Topham, the local photographer, who refused to give up. Eventually, a grumpy Churchill emerged and John was the only one to get the shot. The next day, John turned up with a print and got Churchill s signature on it. Talk about tenacity. Mono Negative !AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! UnitedArchives1217941

A signed portrait of Winston Churchill taken by John Topham at Chartwell. 1953 The story behind the picture: Churchill burned his hand whilst lighting a cigar. The press photographers were all there, desperate for a picture. They waited all day in freezing weather and one by one they left. The last to remain was the looming figure of John Topham, the local photographer, who refused to give up. Eventually, a grumpy Churchill emerged and John was the only one to get the shot. The next day, John turned up with a print and got Churchill s signature on it. Talk about tenacity. Mono Negative !AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! UnitedArchives1217941

Choose your license

Rights Managed:

One-time editorial use in an online article, social media channels, internal presentation, website, newsletter, or blog.

One-time editorial use in a book, newspaper or magazine (excluding cover page), external presentation. Limited to 5,000 circulation. This includes the rights available in the Standard license.

Media Info

Credit: United Archives

Media ID:

Recording Date: Jan 1, 1953

Media Size: 8,150×6,143 Pixels

A signed portrait of Winston Churchill taken by John Topham at Chartwell. 1953 The story behind the picture: Churchill burned his hand whilst lighting a cigar. The press photographers were all there, desperate for a picture. They waited all day in freezing weather and one by one they left. The last to remain was the looming figure of John Topham, the local photographer, who refused to give up. Eventually, a grumpy Churchill emerged and John was the only one to get the shot. The next day, John turned up with a print and got Churchill s signature on it. Talk about tenacity. Mono Negative !AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! UnitedArchives1217941

Release Info: Do I need a release?

Captions may have been translated or enriched by an AI system.
For more information about AI-assisted captions, see AI-assisted captions.

Need a custom license?

If your intended use isn't covered by the available options (such as non-editorial purposes or specific distribution needs), contact us. Our team will be happy to provide a tailored offer based on your requirements.