One of my earliest black and white TV memories was watching
the state funeral of former British leader Sir Winston Churchill, back in late
January 1965.
At the tender age of 6 years old, I would have been pretty much
unaware of his identity or indeed anything he had accomplished, but as my parents
were sat glued to the box, the solemnity of the occasion certainly seemed to
make a lasting impression on this young boy.
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| With Stalin and Roosevelt at Yalta 1945 |
Considered to be of the greatest wartime leaders of the
20th Century, Sir Winston died 50 years ago, on the 24th January 1965 with
his funeral taking place 6 days later.
Named ‘the Greatest Briton of all time’ the Queen decreed
that Churchill’s body should lay in state in Westminster Hall for 3 days before
the service took place at St Paul’s
Cathedral on the 30th.
Representatives from 112 nations were in attendance as was
the Queen. The Royal Artillery fired a 19 gun salute, the RAF staged a flypast
and even dockworkers lowered their crane jibs in tribute, as the funeral cortege made its way
up the River Thames.
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| Funeral train |
On the train journey to his final resting place, thousands
of British subjects packed all available space on station platforms where the train
passed, all silently paying their last respects to the great man.
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| Churchill's grave |
At his own request he was interred in the family plot at St
Martin’s Church, Bladon – close to his birthplace at Blenheim Palace.
Later in 1965 a memorial was placed in Westminster Abbey.
