What to wear to the White House when your country's at war [View all]

[bigtree]

Jacob Rubashkin @JacobRubashkin 21h
This is what Churchill wore to the White House during WWII


Ware, C J (Lt) Royal Navy official photographer


Diana Hopkins, daughter of advisor Harry Hopkins, stands beside Mr. Churchill with President Roosevelt's dog Fala in January 1942. The White House Historical Association

When Churchill visited and stayed in the White House before Christmas of 1941, the secretive visit – which lasted for 24 days – left a great impact on the White House staff. As Chief Usher J.B. West recounted, the staff who served the PM his brandy would either see him in his beloved jumpsuit [described by the Chief Usher as “an extraordinary one-piece uniform” Churchill wore everyday] or in his birthday suit.

[The staff never quite got over seeing him naked in his room,” West said.

To this, West concluded: “It was the jumpsuit or nothing. In his room, Mr. Churchill wore no clothes at all most of the time during the day”.

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured/strangest-funniest-eccentric-odd-habits-stalin-hitler-churchill-fdr.html

(quoted from West's book, "Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies)