What a great story! Too good not to share on my blog. I do wish I could meet this handsome little fellow!
His bulldog spirit saw Britain through its ‘finest hour’ to victory in World War II. But, in reality, Sir Winston Churchill was a big softie when it came to cats.
The wartime leader’s love for his feline friends was so strong that he left wishes in his 1965 will that a cat must always be in ‘comfortable residence’ at his former home in Chartwell, Kent, long after his death.
Since 1962, Jock – a cat named after his private secretary Sir John ‘Jock’ Colville who bought him a pet for his 88th birthday– has lived at the former prime minister’s home.
It is rumoured the cat was so dear to Sir Winston that mealtimes at Chartwell would not start until the pet was at the table.
And today, Jock VI moved in to the home from an animal shelter.
Sir Winston’s family bequeathed the home to the National Trust in 1966, insisting a marmalade cat with white bib and four white socks must live there.
Seven-month-old Jock VI is fostered from the Croydon Animal Samaritans. He will now live in the lap of luxury.
He will feast on tuna and lounge on Persian rugs, said new owner, Chartwell’s house and collections manager Katherine Barnett.
‘It’s a modern-day rags-to-riches story,’ she added.
‘Jock VI has had a difficult start to life, but as the saying goes, “a cat always lands on its feet.”’
The previous Jock, who moved in in 2010, left Chartwell when its owner moved to Scotland last year.
