An overzealous archivist who apparently thought museum-goers would having nothing to fear but fear itself, plus Winston Churchill’s cigar, altered the image of one of the most famous pictures of the prime minister to remove his stogie.

The original photo shows Churchill making a "V" symbol with his fingers, while his teeth clench a cigar in the corner of his mouth.

But a reproduction of the picture, over the main entrance to a London museum celebrating the wartime leader, shows him sans cigar, the Telegraph of London reports.

It is unclear who is responsible for doctoring the photograph, and museum officials claim they didn’t noticed that the cigar was missing from the photo, taken in 1948 during the opening of a new military headquarters.

The whitewashing has riled many, who say Churchill’s trademark cigar defined his image.

For the full story in the Telegraph of London — Go here now.