Buyer snaps up Churchill’s false teeth

A vital weapon in Winston Churchill’s fight against Nazism was sold yesterday – his dentures.

The set of false teeth worn by the wartime prime minister for his rousing speeches fetched £15,200 at auction.

Churchill’s dentures were so crucial to him that he ensured a spare set was to hand at all times.

A collector clearly held them in equally high regard, bidding more than three times the guide price at yesterday’s sale in Norfolk.

Auctioneers said the teeth were bought by an unnamed collector from Gloucestershire who already owns the microphone Churchill used to announce the end of World War II.

“There was a tremendous amount of interest in the auction room and there were at least nine telephone bidders,” said a spokesman for the auction at Keys’ Salerooms, Aylsham. The teeth sold very quickly.”

Churchill is often praised for raising Britain’s wartime spirit but his oratories may not have been so powerful without his gold-plated dentures.

The son of dental technician Derek Cudlipp, who made dentures for the wartime leader, decided to sell part of the spare set.

Keys’ valuer Andrew Bullock said: “It is so quirky, one of those things which is so unusual that it could make a huge amount of money.

“The teeth are set in dentist’s gold but I think it is safe to say they won’t be sold for their scrap value.”

Mr Bullock said the false teeth, which had a guide price of £4,500 to £5,000, were specially constructed to disguise Churchill’s natural lisp.

He said Churchill suffered from terrible teeth and gums and needed complicated dentistry from childhood.

Churchill valued the skill of his dentist, Wilfred Fish, so highly that he nominated him for a knighthood.

The delicacy and special design of the false teeth were widely credited with helping Churchill to speak clearly and effectively, said Mr Bullock.