Winston Churchill was known for his cigars and iconic weapons testing photos, some of which were used in anti-British propaganda by the Nazis in WW2. But what you may not already know is that Winston Churchill was given a prescription for alcohol during Prohibition. The exact prescription was for “an indefinite amount” of alcohol.
WW2-era British Prime Minister Winston Churchill enjoyed his drink. Author William Manchester once wrote, “there was always some amount of alcohol in his bloodstream.”
Another famous quote credited by Churchill was that he once said, “that the four essentials in life were hot baths, cold champagne, new peas and old brandy.”
It was this fact about him that makes it clear he was having some hesitation about visiting New York in 1931, during the Prohibition. It was a chaotic era in American history, one in which the U.S. government really did poison alcohol during Prohibition.
While Churchill enjoyed spirits on a daily basis, he was not a fan of being “monkey-arsed”. Author Robert Sellers writes, “Total inebriation was something he abhorred, which says much for what must have been a steel constitution.”
Winston Churchill’s Prescription For Alcohol During Prohibition
The British Prime Minister arrived in New York and shortly after at around 10:30 p.m. on December 13, 1931, he was struck by a car in the middle of the street.
Churchill made a mistake common to Brits, he stepped out of the cab not remembering that traffic stays to the right. He was hit by a car driven by the 26 year old Edward F. Cantasano. He was immediately admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital with cracked ribs and other less serious injuries.
Churchill forgave the man and actually autographed his book for him, The Unknown War, even serving him tea once he was released from the hospital.
It was because of this car accident that Churchill was given a prescription for alcohol. A Dr. Otto Pickhardt wrote a doctor’s note dated January 26, 1932 that allowed him to drink legally even though spirits were still illegal nationwide. The prescribing physician’s note reads,
This is to certify that this post-accident convalescence of the Hon. Winston S. Churchill necessitates the use of alcoholic spirits especially at meal times. The quantity is naturally indefinite but the minimum requirements would be 250 cubic centimeters.
The minimum required alcohol is 250 cm or around six shots of spirits.
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