The Churchills on the Costa del Sol

Winston Churchill is one of the icons of 20th century history and one of the most universally known British characters of all time. He led Britain to victory during the Second World War and, after serving two terms as Prime Minister, he retired from active politics in 1955 for health reasons. Upon his death in 1965 he received the full honours of a state funeral.

Despite there being no evidence of this British statesman visiting Spain, other than anchoring off the coast of Malaga, there are other members of the Churchill family who chose Malaga province as their residence for a short time.

On the cusp of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War we find John George Spencer Churchill, 27 years old and an artist by profession, registered in the town of Torremolinos, along with his wife Angela Mary Culme-Seymour, 24 years old, and their little daughter Cornelia, barely one year old. A nanny named Elizabeth Forrest Alexander also lived with them. The family lived in the Molino del Rosario, next to the Torre de Pimentel. They formed part of the large colony of foreigners that by 1936 had settled in Torremolinos on a temporary or permanent basis in addition to the tourists who holidayed in the area at Hotel Santa Clara and the Parador de Montemar.

John Spencer Churchill (1909-1992) was a painter, sculptor and writer and, most notably, he was the nephew of Sir Winston, son of the politician's brother Jack. He had earned a certain fame, in addition to his family origins, for creating mural decorations in the homes of the aristocracy. In an obituary published in The Times newspaper it was commented that he moved with his wife and his daughter to Torremolinos when "it was already a popular destination for foreign artists and writers". Apparently he then made a living there doing sketches and drawings for the Illustrated London News. It is very possible that he came to the Costa del Sol following recommendations by the painter Bernard Meninsky, who had been in Malaga and Torremolinos in the previous months.

When war broke out in Spain, John and his family were evacuated from Malaga on a British warship. Fond of drinking, he was arrested in 1955 along with his third wife (after divorcing Angela he married three more times) for causing scandals in public. Apart from his artistic output, he dedicated himself to giving lectures in which the public expected him to tell gossip about his family.

Sarah Churchill (1914-1982), one of the four daughters of Sir Winston, who also had a son, was a great source of gossip. She was an actress and dancer. Her most memorable role was the one she played in the 1951 film Royal Wedding alongside Fred Astaire. She suffered from the same problems with alcohol that afflicted other members of her famous family. She was arrested on several occasions.

Sarah was married for the third time in 1962 to Thomas Percy Henry Touchet-Jesson, Lord Audley. She had met her third husband in Marbella, where she had a residence. She would spend time there, out most nights attending the endless parties that often took place at La Jacaranda nightclub.

One night, Sarah and Henry were driving from Madrid to Marbella, but an untimely breakdown forced them to make a stopover in Granada, where they decided to spend the night at the Alhambra Palace hotel. Gabriel Pozo says that they took the opportunity to visit several flamenco clubs until her husband returned to the hotel. Sarah continued to party and, shortly before dawn, she decided to bathe naked in the city centre fountain, Fuente de las Batallas. The municipal police removed her from the fountain and returned her to her hotel. When they arrived there they found that Baron Audley had died of a heart attack that same night.

It was July 3, 1963. The authorities transferred the body to Malaga and Lord Audley was buried two days later in the English Cemetery in an intimate ceremony attended by only twelve people. His remains rest beneath a tombstone that reads somewhat tersely: "Henry, 23rd Baron Audley. Beloved husband of Sarah". Just two months later the widow had an accident when she was driving while under the influence. The civil governor, Ramón Castilla, fined her 5,000 pesetas and expelled her from the country.

Fast forward to September 26, 1958, and the famous yacht Christina, belonging to the Greek magnate Aristotle Onassis, was anchored in the waters off Malaga. On board were both the Churchill and Onassis couples, accompanied by several friends. They were taking a cruise in the Mediterranean to celebrate the golden wedding anniversary of Sir Winston and his wife Clementine. Prior to Malaga they had made brief stops in Palamós, Palma de Mallorca and Cartagena, the city where they disembarked for a brief tour of just two hours. In Malaga Sir Winston did not set foot on land. The veteran British politician, who was 83 years old at the time, remained on deck enjoying views of the Malaga coastline while his wife walked around the city. The yacht then visited Tangier and Seville, where Onassis and Churchill took a horse-drawn carriage ride. From there they sailed to Gibraltar, where the 'Old Lion' took a plane to London. Churchill made eight trips on Onassis's yacht in the final years of his life as he struggled with physical decline and depression.