Magnificent World War II-dated matte-finish 7.75 x 9.75 photo of the United Kingdom Prime Minister in a stoic three-quarter-length pose, signed below on the original mount in fountain pen, “Winston S. Churchill, 1944.” Displayed within a gilt and oak frame to an overall size of 13 x 15; the front of the frame bears an affixed plaque, which reads: “Winston Churchill, June 12th 1944, Normandy and Back.” The consignor states that the photograph was acquired by Alfred Frank Noyes, who had served as a navigator on the destroyer HMS Kelvin when it ferried Churchill and others over to Normandy in 1944. In very good to fine condition, with some dampstaining to the mount and to the upper left corner of the image, which appears to be partially stuck to the glass in the original frame, and which could be professionally repaired to create a stunning display.
Churchill intended to land in Normandy with the Allied forces on the day of the opening of the second front on June 6, 1944. He informed the Allied Force Commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower, that he was going to oversee the disembarkation from the ship on the coast of Normandy. To all of Eisenhower’s objections, the prime minister replied that he could appoint himself a member of the ship’s crew and that the general could not stop him. Churchill was ultimately dissuaded from such action thanks to the intervention of King George VI, who stated that if the prime minister deemed it necessary to witness the events firsthand, then so must he. On June 12th, six days after D-Day, Churchill crossed the English Channel in the destroyer Kelvin and landed on the Normandy coast at Courcelles-sur-Mer.
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