In 1947 Mrs Taylor sold the house to the mother of Comte Charles de Breteuil, who gave it to her son and his wife as a wedding present.

[3] At the outbreak of the Second World War, the house was requisitioned by the US Government, and Kenneth Pendar, an archaeologist, the US Vice-Consul and a secret agent was installed in residence.

Churchill’s aide-de-camp, Commander 'Tommy' Thompson, recorded the villa as, “built in the local style with a central courtyard, orange trees and fountains, and the interior decoration was exotic in the extreme”.

[10] Gerald Pawle, whose book on Churchill's wartime travels, The War and Colonel Warden, drew heavily on Thompson's recollections, described it as "decorated in native style, with lavish use of painted wood, mosaics and rich furnishings".

And there in the bed was Winston, in his green, red and gold dragon dressing gown, his hair, or what there was of it, standing on end, the lights shining on his cheeks, and a large cigar in his face!

[17] The purchaser was the mother of Comte Charles de Breteuil, a newspaper publisher, and he and his wife, known as Boule, received the villa as a wedding present.