A signed portrait of Winston Churchill taken by John Topham at Chartwell. 1953 The story behind the picture: Churchill burned his hand whilst lighting a cigar. The press photographers were all there, desperate for a picture. They waited all day in freezing weather and one by one they left. The last to remain was the looming figure of John Topham, the local photographer, who refused to give up. Eventually, a grumpy Churchill emerged and John was the only one to get the shot. The next day, John turned up with a print and got Churchill's signature on it. Talk about tenacity.