A chancemeeting while lecturing about the birth of Churchill has given one Lewisham author a unique taste of history.

Celia Lee was giving a talk on the war leader’s premature birth and was stamping out rumours with the help of vascular consultant Rodney Croft that Churchill was conceived out of wedlock.

While giving the lecture in his old Conservative constituency of Epping in Essex she met Mike Tompkins - a chef who baked the great statesman’s 80th birthday cake.

Ms Lee explained: “Mike took the cake personally to 10 Downing Street, and was graciously received. There was a party with Winston and his wife Clementine and others.

“Mike produced two framed photographs out of a plastic bag, which show him with the cake and Winston and his wife Clementine and several others in Downing Street.

“The table was set for a celebration and the cake was lit by three-tier candelabras and the cake was iced plain white with icing.”

Mr Tompkins revealed the cake had been made using the same recipe as the Queen’s wedding cake when she got married after the end of the Second World War.

Because of the wedding’s timing there was a shortage of ingredients and so items had to be shipped over from Australia.

Ms Lee said: “Mike did not have these problems when he came to bake his cake for Winston's 80th birthday in 1954, but rationing was still in place then. Coupons were still required for luxury items.”

The author, who has written books including ‘The Churchills - A Family Portrait’ and recently returned from a lecture tour of New York sponsored by the Churchill Society, described the existence of the recipe as “a bombshell”.

Excited by the discovery, she asked her neighbour Lorna Williams, a baker, to make her own version of the classic cake - including lashings of the former prime minister’s favourite Cognac brandy.

Ms Lee, who said: “Lorna kept the icing all white to make it serene for the birthday of a deceased hero and world leader. It simply says ‘Churchill 136’.”

The finished product is being kept preserved and will be eaten when members of the Churchill family meet to celebrate his 136th birthday later this month.

THE RECIPE.

butter.

caster sugar.

moist Tate and Lyle pieces.

flour.

frozen whole egg.

honey.

salt.

spice.

cassia.

nutmeg.

ground ginger.

ground cloves.

ground almonds.

cherries.

currants.

sultanas.

mixed peel.

caramel powder.

glycerine.

egg colour.

oil of lemon.

oil of orange.

cognac brandy.

sherry.

rum.