Claimed Association With Churchill
Oram also claims that Charlie was the property of Sir Winston Churchill while he was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. Oram claims that his father-in-law, Percy Dabner, sold the parrot to Churchill in 1937 and then reclaimed the bird shortly after Churchill's death in 1965. According to the stories, the vocal bird was taught by Churchill to shout curses at Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, to the chagrin of officials within the British government.
Oram's claims have been solidly rejected by the administrators of the Chartwell property, Churchill's former country home, who have no record of any parrot. Further, Churchill's only surviving child, Lady Soames, has denied her father ever owned a macaw. According to Soames, Churchill did own an African Grey Parrot named Polly, but sold the bird before assuming the role of Prime Minister.
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