CHURCHILL, Winston Spencer (1874-1965). A "Romeo y Julieta" cigar butt, 50mm. long, acquired by the vendor, Iris Howell (née White), while tending to Winston Churchill in her capacity as a flight attendant for British European Airways in the 1960s. (3)

CHURCHILL, Winston Spencer (1874-1965).  A "Romeo y Julieta" cigar butt, 50mm. long, with the vendor's British European Airways (BEA) diary for 1963, inscribed on Wednesday 12th June "Nice, Sir Winston Churchill", in addition to a sheet of typed paper, dated 29.2.68, itemising her Final Salary Statement on termination of employment with BEA. Provenance: Acquired by the vendor, Iris Howell (née White), while tending to Winston Churchill in her capacity as a flight attendant for British European Airways in the 1960s. On the 12th June 1963, Churchill was travelling to Nice with BEA. When he had finished a cigar, Iris recovered the butt and kept it as a souvenir. Churchill was a frequent visitor throughout his life to Nice and the Cote d'Azur where he enjoyed gambling and painting the landscape and coast. Also included in the lot is Iris's BEA diary for 1963 in which she kept notes of her flights and any famous people she was looking after on them. The entry for 12th June records Churchill's name and the destination of his flight, Nice. Also in the diary is a list of famous people Iris flew with that year, in addition to Churchill, including RAF pilot John Cunningham, mountaineers Chis Bonnington and Joe Brown, comedian and actors Arthur Askey, Jimmy Jewel, Lance Percival, Sidney Poitier and John Wayne, ballerina Alicia Markova, politician Edward Heath, Lord & Lady Eccles, tennis player Kurt Nielsen, opera singer Adele Leigh, and others. (3)