Winston Churchill refused to pay his tailor's bills

A statue of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain. (Photo: Reuters)

Refusal to pay the bills of one's tailor was famously almost a point of honour among English gentlemen in past centuries, and Winston Churchill was no exception, newly released archives show.

Britain's World War II leader had racked up a bill of 197 pounds by 1937, around 12,000 pounds ($18,000) at today's prices, with Savile Row tailor Henry Poole and Co. before he was finally asked to pay up.