11. The scowl was real in one of the most famous photographs of Winston Churchill
On December 30, 1941, Winston Churchill arrived by train in Ottawa, Canada, to address the Canadian Parliament. During that speech, he referred to a comment made by French Marshal Philippe Petain in 1940, to the effect that England would “have her neck wrung like a chicken” if it continued to fight following the French surrender. Petain at the time headed the collaborationist French government at Vichy. “Some chicken. Some neck”, Churchill scoffed before the Parliament to laughter, cheers, and applause. He spoke for nearly forty minutes, his delivery lengthened by numerous interruptions for applause. Following the speech, he enjoyed a whiskey and soda with Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King, though King chose tea over alcohol. Churchill then learned of a plan for a portrait photograph, something he had not planned. He agreed only grudgingly.
When the photographer posed Churchill, he wanted the Prime Minister to place one hand, his right, on a chair back and the left on his hip, angled to the camera with his head turned toward the lens. Churchill had just lighted another of his numerous daily cigars. The photographer asked him to remove it. Churchill refused. Pretending to move forward to adjust the lighting the photographer plucked the cigar from his mouth and returned to his camera. Upon facing his subject he saw an outraged Churchill glowering at him, a deep scowl on his face. He quickly snapped the picture. The photographer later noted, “By the time I got back to the camera he looked so belligerent he could have devoured me”. Churchill never commented on the resulting photograph, nor did he express an opinion of the photographer, at least not in writing.