From the Archives #25: Churchill’s Sweet Tooth
These photos and the accompanying caption were originally posted to our Facebook page (link to external site) on April 29, 2023.
St. Albans maple syrup has been enjoyed the world over, even by Winston Churchill! This document from the SAM archives is a letter from Churchill's principal private secretary John Colville, thanking then-Mayor Dempsey for a gift of maple syrup given to Churchill while traveling through St. Albans. This was not Churchill's first time in town, either; a 1949 photograph shows him on a trip from Washington, DC to Ottawa, Canada via St. Albans. The man to his left is his bodyguard, Inspector Stephenson of the Scotland Yard Flying Squad.