Dunhill During the Second World War (WWII Phase)

WWII Phase is the heading used in Dunhill literature to describe the brand's years during and immediately after the Second World War. Spanning roughly 1939 to 1953, this stretch is set apart for collecting purposes for two reasons: production dropped sharply in number, and pipes from these years carry marks that do not follow the brand's usual stamp layout.

Researchers trying to make sense of the period have to work backward from the small number of surviving examples and from the wartime supply conditions.

The Bombed Shop

Dunhill's shop at Duke Street, St. James's, in London, suffered heavy damage during the night raids known as the Blitz. Most sources place the destruction in the first half of 1941; some accounts give the date of the attack as 17 April 1941, though this detail rests on a single source and is not considered certain. The trade press of the time published a photograph of Alfred Henry Dunhill, then head of the company, holding a piece salvaged from the rubble; it was likewise reported in those years that sales continued in the midst of the wreckage. Repairing the building was delayed by postwar material restrictions; the shop was only restored to its former state in 1953.

Alfred Henry Dunhill had taken over as chairman of the company from his father in 1928. He held the position until 1961, when he handed it to his sister, Mary Dunhill; he died in 1971.