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| The PM and the brolly that was auctioned in Grimsby |
PHOTOGRAPHS of former Neville Chamberlain - for instance, of him returning from Munich talks with Hitler - often show him carrying a rolled-up umbrella.
It became to him an important prop - a symbol of peace - and inevitably the subject of cartoons and even poems.
Said a contemporary newspaper report: "Millions of people throughout Europe believe that the man who carried an umbrella at Munich averted war in those tense days of October last."
To Hitler, it was a ridiculous affectation.
He detested Chamberlain and once confided there was nothing he would like more than to push him down the stairs and jump on his stomach.
The umbrella was also much-mocked in the Munich press.
And to prove that Germans have a sense of humour, following the invasion of France, the Luftwaffe even dropped a brolly over the French lines!
But what happened to Chamberlain's umbrella?
The Grimsby News can reveal that the local Conservative & Unionist Association had the bright idea of persuading Chamberlain to donate it for auction at its Empire Fair, opened by Miss Rosita Forbes, at the Gaiety Hall in Grimsby one Thursday in May, 1939.
Said association chairman George Tickler: "I hope all peace-loving citizens who wish to show their appreciation of the service rendered by our great Prime Minister in preventing terrible war will turn up and bid briskly for the umbrella.”
It emerged later that bidding reached £140 before the hammer came down on the brolly (which had been signed by Chamberlain).
But who bought it and where is it now?
No one seems to know. The trail has gone cold.
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