Height: 20cm (8in)
Three ceramic figures in glazed utility ware porcelain. Churchill marked ‘Our Gang / Copyright’ / ‘The Boss’ to the bottom of the right foot and ‘The / Bovey Pottery / Devon / England’ to the other. Franklin D Roosevelt modelled wearing one of the ‘lucky' hats that he wore during presidential campaigns. Marked ‘FDR’ to the bottom of the right foot and ‘The / Bovey Pottery / Devon / England’ to the underside of the left. Stalin modelled in the Stalin tunic favoured by the Soviet Supreme Commander. Joseph Stalin marked ‘STALIN’ / ‘Copyright’ to the bottom of the left foot and ‘The / Bovey Pottery / Devon / England’ to the underside of the right.
‘Our Gang’, in which Churchill headed a cast of characters, were produced as the result of a collaboration between sculptor Gwynneth Cobden Holt (1909-1995) and architect and historian Fenton Wyness (1903-1974) who became a consultant for the Bovey Pottery in 1940. The cast of characters eventually extended to sixteen figures, representing the Allied war effort and comprised the big three, Churchill - ‘The Boss’, Roosevelt and Stalin. The characters represented various aspects of the war effort in the form of Aussie, Nurse, Warden, Land Girl, Fireman, WAAF, New Zealander, Tommy, Highlander, Sergeant-Major, Airman, Captain, Sailor and Home Guard.