Politician's false teeth were so important for his speech he had several sets made, one of which is expected to fetch thousands

This article is more than 10 years old

This article is more than 10 years old

Winston Churchill's false teeth are to be auctioned for an estimated £5,000.

The unlovely but beautifully made set of dentures helped the British prime minister and second world war icon overcome terrible dental problems since childhood and deliver some of the most famous speeches of the 20th century.

He was so anxious about losing them and being unable to speak that he always kept a spare set, which is why several survive.

He valued so highly the skill of his dentist, Wilfred Fish, that he nominated him for a knighthood.

They are being sold by the son of Derek Cudlipp, the technician who made them, at an auction on 29 July at Keys auction rooms in Aylsham, Norfolk, which recently sold a butter dish used by Churchill as an ashtray, and a stubbed-out cigar of his for £4,500.

Auctioneer Andrew Bullock said they were so unusual they could go well over the estimate. "The teeth are set in dentist's gold but I think it is safe to say they won't be sold for their scrap value."

The same sale will have two more cigars, carefully kept by a woman who is now 87, who once nursed Churchill in hospital, when he gave her the cigars, asking if her father smoked.