Sir Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
, the British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, died on 24 January 1965, aged 90.
His was the first
state funeral in the United Kingdom for a non-member of the Royal Family since
Edward Carson's in 1935. It was the last state funeral until
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
's on 19 September 2022.
The official funeral lasted for four days.
Planning for the funeral, known as
Operation Hope Not, began 12 years before Churchill's death. It was initiated after Churchill's stroke in 1953 while in
his second term, as
the wartime prime minister of the United Kingdom. After several revisions due to Churchill's continued survival (mainly because "the pallbearers kept dying", explained
Lord Mountbatten
Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...
), the plan was issued on 26 January 1965, two days after his death.
By decree of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
, his body
lay in state at
Westminster Hall for three days from 26 January. On 30 January, the order of funeral was held at
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
. From there the body was transported by water along the
River Thames to
Waterloo station, accompanied by military salutations. In the afternoon he was buried at
St Martin's Churchyard at Bladon, the resting place of his ancestors and his brother. Attended by representatives from 120 countries, 6,000 people, and (unusually) by the Queen, more than 1,000 police and security personnel, involving nine military bands, 18 military battalions, 16
Royal Air Force English Electric Lightning fighter jets, a special boat
MV ''Havengore'' and a
funeral train hauled by ''
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
'', homage paid by 321,360 people, and witnessed by over 350 million people, it was the largest state funeral in history.
It was remarked "as demonstrating the British genius for public spectacle."
Background and funeral plan
Voted as the
greatest Briton in a
BBC poll in 2002, Sir Winston Churchill is remembered for leading his country (with the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
) to victory as
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In June 1953, during
his second term as prime minister, he had a severe stroke at a dinner party at
Downing Street. Unknown to his guests, he collapsed and was left partially paralysed. The family kept the incident secret. Among the few who were informed of the news was
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
, who had occupied the throne for just a year. She instructed
The 16th Duke of Norfolk, who, as
Earl Marshal, was in charge of state funerals, to make preparations in the event of Churchill's death that should be "on a scale befitting his position in history". A meticulous and confidential plan titled Operation Hope Not was prepared. Churchill survived the next 12 years, during which necessary modifications were frequently made. The final documents, titled ''State Funeral of the Late Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, K.G., O.M., C.H.'', were issued on 26 January 1965, two days after Churchill's death. The documents dictated the entire course of the funeral down to the minutest detail.
Death
Churchill died in the morning of Sunday 24 January 1965 in his home at 28
Hyde Park Gate, London, exactly 70 years after the death of his
father. Since 1949, he had suffered eight strokes. The last was on 15 January 1965, from which he never recovered. After the stroke, he was mostly in a
coma
A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
; his last words were to his son-in-law
Christopher Soames: "I'm so bored with it all." His physician
Lord Moran
Baron Moran, of Manton in the County of Wiltshire, is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1943 for the physician Charles Wilson (10 November 1882 – 12 April 1977). He is chiefly remembered as Winston Church ...
first informed the Queen and the Prime Minister
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
of the death, and then made the announcement at 8:35 a.m. which was given to the press, saying, "Shortly after eight this morning, Sunday, Jan the 24th, Sir Winston Churchill died at his London home.
ignedMoran."
Reactions and tributes
Leading the world in tributes were Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
, and
Lyndon B. Johnson, the
president of the United States.
The Queen immediately sent a letter of condolence to
Lady Churchill
Clementine Ogilvy Spencer Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill, (; 1 April 1885 – 12 December 1977) was the wife of Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and a life peer in her own right. While legally the daughter o ...
after hearing Churchill's death, saying:
The prime minister announced:
LBJ, hospitalised at
Bethesda Naval Hospital with influenza,
issued an official statement, saying:
He also ordered flags throughout the United States flown at half-staff to pay tribute to America's first honorary citizen through the day of the funeral.
Other tributes
Other world leaders who joined in the tributes included former British prime ministers
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...
,
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957.
Achieving rapid promo ...
,
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...
, and Sir
Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative politician who se ...
, French President
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
, Soviet Premier
Alexei Kosygin, former US presidents
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
and
Dwight D. Eisenhower, and
Pope Paul VI.
Authorisation of state funeral
The Queen sent a message to the House of Commons concerning the procedures for Churchill's funeral, and was read on 25 January, which ran:
When members of the
House of Commons met to pay tribute,
the Prime Minister moved the motion that was a request from the Queen regarding the places for lying in state and funeral service, and was resolved as:
Embalming
J. H. Kenyon Ltd, of
Paddington, London
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddingto ...
, the
funeral directors to the Royal Household since 1928, were tasked with preparing Churchill's remains for the funeral.
Desmond Henley, the company's chief
embalmer, went to Churchill's
Hyde Park Gate home to oversee the process.
Churchill's body was embalmed in the same room where he had died. When the process was completed, the remains were dressed in his silk pyjamas and dressing gown and placed back into his bed. Churchill lay in repose in private at his home until 9:00 p.m. Tuesday evening when Kenyon's staff transported his remains to
Westminster Hall for public viewing.
Funeral programme
Lying in state
The funeral started on Tuesday 26 January 1965. By 8:30 p.m. police and security personnel had taken up their positions in what ''
The Daily Telegraph'' reported as "the most extensive security operation of this sort ever undertaken in England."
At 9:15 p.m. Churchill's body was transported from his London home to Westminster Hall for the
lying in state. It was led by
Cameron Cobbold, 1st Baron Cobbold
Cameron Fromanteel "Kim" Cobbold, 1st Baron Cobbold (14 September 1904 – 1 November 1987) was a British banker. He served as Governor of the Bank of England from 1949 to 1961 and as Lord Chamberlain from 1963 to 1971.
Early life
Born in Lond ...
, the
Lord Chamberlain, in the company of family members.
He was placed on a
catafalque
A catafalque is a raised bier, box, or similar platform, often movable, that is used to support the casket, coffin, or body of a dead person during a Christian funeral or memorial service. Following a Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, a catafalque ...
before
Lady Churchill
Clementine Ogilvy Spencer Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill, (; 1 April 1885 – 12 December 1977) was the wife of Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and a life peer in her own right. While legally the daughter o ...
and the
Earl Marshall
Earl marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the United Kingdom). He is the eighth ...
. At 9:00 p.m. the first watch was mounted in the hall by the
Grenadier
A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word '' grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited fr ...
and
Coldstream Guards. In the subsequent days the
Royal Navy, five regiments of
foot guards and the
Queen's Royal Irish Hussars
The Queen's Royal Irish Hussars, abbreviated as QRIH, was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed from the amalgamation of the 4th Queen's Own Hussars and the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars in 1958. The regiment saw active service against ...
also took turns.
The
lying-in-state lasted from Wednesday 27 January to 6:00 a.m. on 30 January, during which Westminster Hall was kept open for 23 hours daily. An hour was reserved for cleaning. The queue was most times more than one mile long, and the waiting time was about three hours;
321,360 people came to pay their respects.
Procession
At 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, 30 January, the funeral began with the chiming of
Big Ben
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...
. The clock was muted for the rest of the day. A ninety-
gun salute was fired at
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
to mark the ninety years of Churchill's life.
The coffin was carried from the hall by a bearer party of eight guards from the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards, placed on a
gun carriage
A gun carriage is a frame and mount that supports the gun barrel of an artillery piece, allowing it to be maneuvered and fired. These platforms often had wheels so that the artillery pieces could be moved more easily. Gun carriages are also used ...
and draped with the
Union Flag, on which was placed the insignia of the
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...
on a black cushion. The procession started upon a drum beat by the
Royal Navy and was then led by the
Royal Air Force and the Foot guards.
The gun carriage itself was drawn by ninety-eight sailors, with forty more behind holding drag ropes.
Following the gun carriage were
Randolph Churchill and his son
Winston side by side, followed by male members of the Churchill family and Churchill's private secretary,
Anthony Montague Browne
Sir Anthony Arthur Duncan Montague Browne (8 May 1923 – 1 April 2013) was a British diplomat who was private secretary to Sir Winston Churchill during the last ten years of the latter's life.
Montague Browne was the biological father of Justi ...
,
all on foot. Lady Churchill and two daughters followed in the Queen's town coach. As the procession was leaving the
New Palace Yard of the
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...
, a single gunshot was fired at
St James's Park.
The march processed through
Whitehall,
Trafalgar Square,
the Strand,
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...
, and up
Ludgate Hill. A marching band consisted of three officers and 96 soldiers of the 2nd Battalion,
Scots Guards. Banners of the
Danish resistance movement
The Danish resistance movements ( da, Den danske modstandsbevægelse) were an underground insurgency to resist the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. Due to the initially lenient arrangements, in which the Nazi occupation autho ...
s were lowered in respect at
the Cenotaph.
Altogether 2,500 soldiers and civilians took part in the procession, while four half-companies of soldiers lined the streets.
Four majors of the
Queen's Royal Irish Hussars
The Queen's Royal Irish Hussars, abbreviated as QRIH, was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed from the amalgamation of the 4th Queen's Own Hussars and the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars in 1958. The regiment saw active service against ...
were assigned to carry Churchill's medals, orders and decorations.
A single gunshot was fired every minute until they arrived at St Paul's.
Entry to St Paul's Cathedral
The coffin arrived at St Paul's at 10.45 a.m. The
pallbearers
A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person.
Some traditions distinguish between the roles of ...
picked up the coffin from the gun carriage at the west end of the cathedral, and carried it up the 24 steps leading to the entrance.
The main pallbearers were eight soldiers of the Grenadier Guards.
There were twelve honorary pallbearers walking in front of the main pallbearers, including
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...
, the
Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...
,
Robert Menzies
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
, and the former British Prime Ministers
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...
,
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957.
Achieving rapid promo ...
and
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...
.
Aged 82, Attlee was frail with ill-health but insisted he be the pallbearer as Churchill had asked him to do the honour. Walking just in front of the main pallbearers, he stumbled on the steps, making the pallbearers lose their balance, almost dropping the coffin, only being saved by two soldiers, "pushers", from the back.
Order of service
The service began as the coffin was laid in St Paul's Cathedral. With officials from more than 112 countries attending, 3,500 people attended the service, and it was the largest gathering of dignitaries in history until the 1980
funeral of Josip Broz Tito
The funeral of Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia and President of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, was held on 8 May 1980, four days after his death on 4 May. His funeral drew many statesmen from around the globe, from Wester ...
, the 2005
funeral of Pope John Paul II and the 2013
funeral of Nelson Mandela. Guests included the
French President Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
, the
Canadian prime minister Lester B. Pearson, the
prime minister of
Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
Ian Smith, former
US president Dwight D. Eisenhower, many other past and present heads of state and government, and members of multiple royal families.
Churchill had expressly objected to inviting de Gaulle as he believed, although they were allies in the war, he was anti-British and was pleaded with by the Duke of Norfolk on the ground of political amnesty; to which Churchill agreed on the condition that
London Waterloo railway station be used instead of
Paddington, as planned. Sir Robert Menzies, then the longest-serving Commonwealth Prime Minister, and Eisenhower, both of whom had known Churchill well in wartime, paid tribute on the BBC's broadcast of the funeral.
Churchill's favourite hymns were sung, including "
Fight the Good Fight
"Fight the Good Fight" is a traditional, classic favorite hymn and Christian song.
It was written by John Samuel Bewley Monsell and published in ''Hymns of Love and Praise for the Church’s Year'' (1863). It is sung to the tune ''Pentecost' ...
", "
He Who Would Valiant Be
"To Be a Pilgrim" (also known as "He Who Would Valiant Be") is an English Christian hymn using words of John Bunyan in The Pilgrim's Progress. It first appeared in Part 2 of ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', written in 1684. The hymn recalls the words o ...
" and "
Battle Hymn of the Republic".
Choral music was
William Croft's ''Funeral Sentences'' sung during the entry procession, and the ''
Kontakion
The kontakion (Greek , plural , ''kontakia'') is a form of hymn performed in the Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic liturgical traditions.
The kontakion originated in the Byzantine Empire around the 6th century and is closely associated with Sain ...
of the Departed'', "Give rest, O Christ, to thy servant with thy Saints". "Battle Hymn of the Republic" paid tribute to Churchill's honorary US citizenship and his close relationship with the US, particularly his friendship with US president
Franklin D. Roosevelt, and his American-born mother.
The other two recalled his personality and career.
At the thanksgiving, Menzies recited a eulogy:
The (cavalry) Last Post was played by Trumpet Corporal Peter Wilson of the Life Guards with Reveille played by Trumpeter Basil King of the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars. As the service was over at one o'clock,
Handel's "
Dead March" was played on the organ while the pallbearers were getting ready. The congregation sang "
Our God, Our Help in Ages Past" as the coffin was carried out through the Great West Doors.
The Queen broke certain royal protocols at Churchill's funeral. Firstly, it was a common royal etiquette for the monarch to not attend funeral service outside of the royal family.
Secondly, she not only attended the service but was among the first officials to arrive at St Paul's, making her presence even before the coffin and Churchill family arrived. It is a royal custom in any event that the monarch is always the last to arrive.
Additionally, it is a royal convention that the monarch is also the first to exit or end an ongoing event. As the funeral service was over, the Queen followed the Churchill family out of the cathedral. To these unusual deeds by the Queen, Nicholas Soames commented: "It is absolutely exceptional if not unique for the Queen to grant precedence to anyone. For her to arrive before the coffin and before my grandfather was a beautiful and very touching gesture."
There was a historical precedent however; the Queen's grandfather,
George V, had attended the state funeral of
Lord Roberts in 1914 and similarly forgone his royal privileges for the occasion.
St Paul's to Bladon
Procession to Tower Pier
After the church service, Churchill's coffin was carried by a bearer party from the Grenadier Guards to the
Tower of London; the journey lasting 18 minutes, making it the longest distance that a coffin had been carried by bearers in any state funeral. Arriving at
Tower Hill the procession was led by 60
pipers from the Scots Guards, the
Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...
and the
King's Own Scottish Borderers, playing
Scottish laments, and then a
Royal Marines
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
band played
''Sunset'' on Tower Wharf. The
Honourable Artillery Company fired a
19-gun salute
A 21-gun salute is the most commonly recognized of the customary gun salutes that are performed by the firing of cannons or artillery as a military honor. As naval customs evolved, 21 guns came to be fired for heads of state, or in exceptiona ...
, acknowledging Churchill's positions (as
head of government and
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cinqu ...
). The procession moved to
Tower Pier, where the coffin was taken on board the
MV ''Havengore''.
On the River Thames
![River Thames - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/River_Thames_-_geograph.org.uk_-_810628.jpg)
Aboard
MV ''Havengore'', naval ratings '
piped the side' and the Royal Marine band played the musical salute ''
Rule, Britannia!'' to the former
First Lord of the Admiralty. Sixteen Royal Air Force
English Electric Lightning fighter jets
flew-past in formation as the boat sailed.
As the coffin passed up the
River Thames, more than 36 dockers lowered their
crane jibs in a salute on the south side of the bank.
It was not part of the plan and was initially disapproved by
New Scotland Yard as an unnecessary private tribute.
The cranes were under the Hay's Wharf (now
Hay's Galleria) and the homage was praised as a gesture of respect in an unrehearsed and spontaneous action.
Nicholas Soames, grandson of Churchill, remarked this unexpected activity as one that "undid us all." But when
Jeremy Paxman aired his BBC documentary ''Churchill: A Nation's Farewell'' in 2015, he created a controversy. In it, Paxman interviewed one of the surviving dockers John Lynch, who claimed that the workers were paid to show up for work and did the gesture only because they were paid to do so as it was a Saturday, their day off. Lynch further went on to say that the dockers hated Churchill. In response, David Freeman reported that way back in 1965, David Burnett, the then managing director of Hay's Wharf, had publicly revealed that the gesture was voluntary. Talking to the ''Daily Mail'', Burnett had stated: "We thought we should add our own little tribute to Sir Winston. The dock workers concerned immediately agreed to give up their time off... Our men have not asked for any overtime. They will be paid something to cover their expenses." Rodney J. Croft also described in his 2014 book ''Churchill's Final Farewell'' that the crane drivers voluntarily did the job "without any resort to asking for overtime pay."
Festival Pier to Waterloo Station
From the MV ''Havengore'', the coffin was borne to a black
Austin Princess hearse at
Festival Pier
Festival Pier is a stop for river boat services on the River Thames, London, UK. It is immediately in front of the Royal Festival Hall and National Film Theatre, and serves the South Bank complex. The pier is owned and operated by London Riv ...
by non-commissioned soldiers of the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars in No 2 Dress Uniform. The hearse was escorted only by a large limousine for the Churchill family.
Funeral train
![Clapham Junction Sir Winston Churchill's Funeral Train geograph-2675150-by-Ben-Brooksbank](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Clapham_Junction_Sir_Winston_Churchill%27s_Funeral_Train_geograph-2675150-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg)
The coffin arrived at Waterloo Station at 1:23 p.m. and was picked up by ten commissioned officers from the Queen's Royal Irish hussars in No 1 Dress uniform and was placed in a specially prepared
funeral train,
the locomotive of which was named ''
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
'' that was to carry it to the final destination,
Hanborough station in Oxfordshire. The hearse van, No. S2464S, had been set aside in 1962 specifically for the funeral train. In the fields along the route, and at the stations through which the train passed, thousands stood in silence to pay their last respects.
Burial at Bladon
At Bladon, the coffin was carried to
St Martin's Churchyard by the officer bearer party of the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars and interred in a private family ceremony. He was laid in a grave near to his parents and his brother.
Observances outside of Britain
There were many memorial services taking place for Churchill outside of Britain during the funeral. For example, in the United States, a memorial service for Churchill took place at
FDR
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's grave at his home in
Hyde Park, New York to mark the anniversary of Roosevelt's birth. Those attending the service heard speakers talk about the coincidence of the date in the records of two leaders who shared history.
West Point Superintendent Major General
James Lampert laid a wreath from President Johnson to pay tribute to both FDR and Churchill.
Dignitaries
Churchill's funeral was the largest gathering of world leaders during the 1960s—and, at that time, in history. Representatives from 112 countries and many organisations attended,
including 5 kings, 2 queens, 1 emperor, 1 grand duke, 2 queen consorts, 15 presidents, 14 prime ministers and 10 former leaders.
Some of the guests were:
*
Alfons Gorbach,
Chancellor of Austria
*
Rt Hon Sir Robert Menzies,
Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...
*
Baudouin
Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his dea ...
,
King of the Belgians
Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's h ...
*
Rt Hon Lester B. Pearson,
Prime Minister of Canada
*
U Thant,
Secretary-General of the United Nations
*
René Maheu
René Gabriel Eugene Maheu (March 28, 1905 in Saint-Gaudens – December 19, 1975 in Paris) was a French professor of philosophy and the sixth Director-General of UNESCO. He was a close friend of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.
He ...
,
Director General
A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals''
) or general director is a senior executive (government), executive officer, often the chief executive offi ...
of
UNESCO
*
Arnold Smith
Arnold Cantwell Smith (January 18, 1915 – February 7, 1994) was a Canadian diplomat. He was the first Commonwealth Secretary-General, serving from 1965–1975.
A talented student, he won a Rhodes Scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford. ...
,
Commonwealth Secretary-General
*
Jean Rey,
President of the European Commission
The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...
*
HM Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
,
HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,
Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
and
Rt Hon Harold Wilson,
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
* Former Prime Ministers
Rt Hon Earl Attlee,
Rt Hon Earl of Avon,
Rt Hon Harold Macmillan, and
Rt Hon Sir Alec Douglas-Home
* ''
Tánaiste''
Frank Aiken,
T.D.,
Minister for External Affairs of Ireland
*
Sir Alexander Bustamante
Sir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante (born William Alexander Clarke; 24 February 1884 – 6 August 1977) was a Jamaican politician and labour leader, who, in 1962, became the first prime minister of Jamaica.
Early life and education
He was ...
,
Prime Minister of Jamaica
*
Bahi Ladgham,
Prime Minister of Tunisia
*
Rt Hon Keith Holyoake,
Prime Minister of New Zealand
*
Frederick IX,
King of Denmark
The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe ...
and
Jens Otto Krag,
Prime Minister of Denmark
*
Olav V,
King of Norway and
Harald, Crown Prince of
Norway
*
Hans-Peter Tschudi,
President of Switzerland
The president of the Swiss Confederation, also known as the president of the Confederation or colloquially as the president of Switzerland, is the head of Switzerland's seven-member Federal Council, the country's executive branch. Elected by t ...
*
Giuseppe Saragat
Giuseppe Saragat (; 19 September 1898 – 11 June 1988) was an Italian politician who served as the president of Italy from 1964 to 1971.
Early life
Born to Sardinian parents, he was a member of the Unitary Socialist Party (Italy, 1922), Unita ...
,
President of Italy
*
Urho Kekkonen,
President of Finland
The president of the Republic of Finland ( fi, Suomen tasavallan presidentti; sv, Republiken Finlands president) is the head of state of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the Finnish Government and the p ...
*
Ludwig Erhard
Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is known for leading the West German postwar economic ...
,
Chancellor of West Germany
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...
*
Walter Ulbricht, Chairman of the
State Council of East Germany
*
Constantine II,
King of the Hellenes
The Kingdom of Greece was ruled by the House of Wittelsbach between 1832 and 1862 and by the House of Glücksburg from 1863 to 1924, temporarily abolished during the Second Hellenic Republic, and from 1935 to 1973, when it was once more abolishe ...
,
Anne Marie,
Queen of the Hellenes
Consorts of the Kings of Greece were women married to the rulers of the Kingdom of Greece during their reign. All monarchs of modern Greece were male.The exception is King Otto, who was styled ''King of Greece''. Amalia, accordingly, is the only pe ...
,
Frederica,
Dowager Queen of the Hellenes
*
Juliana,
Queen of the Netherlands
The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Consequently, a large portion of it is devoted to the monarch. Roughly a third of ...
and
Bernhard, Prince Consort of the
Netherlands
*
Foreign Minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
*
Jean,
Grand Duke of Luxembourg
*
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
,
King of Romania
*
Petar Stambolić,
Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
The prime minister of Yugoslavia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Премијер Југославије, Premijer Jugoslavije) was the head of government of the Yugoslavia, Yugoslav state, from the Creation of Yugoslavia, creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croa ...
*
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
Egidio Vagnozzi
Egidio Vagnozzi (26 February 1906 – 26 December 1980) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the second president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See from 1968 until his death, and was elevated to ...
,
Apostolic Delegate of
Vatican City
*
Zalman Shazar,
President of Israel
*
C. R. Swart,
State President of South Africa
The State President of the Republic of South Africa ( af, Staatspresident) was the head of state of South Africa from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic on 31 May 1961, albeit, outside the Commonweal ...
*
Habib Bourguiba
Habib Bourguiba (; ar, الحبيب بورقيبة, al-Ḥabīb Būrqībah; 3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian lawyer, nationalist leader and statesman who led the country from 1956 to 1957 as the prime minister of the Kingdom of T ...
,
President of Tunisia
*
Haile Selassie I,
Emperor of Ethiopia
The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century ...
*
Tage Erlander
Tage Fritjof Erlander (; 13 June 1901 – 21 June 1985) was a Swedish politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1946 to 1969. He was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and led the government for an uninterrupted tenur ...
,
Prime Minister of Sweden
*
General Agustín Muñoz Grandes
Agustín Muñoz Grandes (27 January 1896 – 11 July 1970) was a Spanish general, and politician, vice-president of the Spanish Government and minister with Francisco Franco several times; also known as the commander of the Blue Division between ...
,
Deputy Prime Minister of
Spain
*
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Américo Tomás,
President of Portugal
*
Ian Smith,
Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia
*
Kenneth Kaunda,
President of Zambia
*
General İsmet İnönü,
Prime Minister of Turkey
The prime minister of the Republic of Turkey (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanı'') was the head of government of the Republic of Turkey from 1920 to 2018, who led a political coalition in the Grand National Assembly of ...
*
Abdelkadir Chanderil,
President of Algeria
*
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu,
President of South Vietnam
*
Nobusuke Kishi
was a Japanese bureaucrat and politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1957 to 1960.
Known for his exploitative rule of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in Northeast China in the 1930s, Kishi was nicknamed the "Monster of the Shō ...
, Former
Prime Minister of Japan
*
General Park Chung-hee
Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...
,
President of South Korea
*
Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the ninth president of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth vice president, serving from 19 ...
,
President of the Philippines
*
Prince Norodom Kantol
Norodom Kantol ( km, នរោត្តម កន្តុល; 15 September 19201976) was a member of the Cambodian royal family and Prime Minister of Cambodia, serving from 1962 to 1966. He also served as foreign minister under the Sangkum gov ...
,
Prime Minister of Cambodia
The prime minister of Cambodia ( km, នាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រីនៃកម្ពុជា, ) is the head of government of Cambodia. The prime minister is also the chairman of the Cabinet and leads the executive branch of the ...
Delegations
Three countries were permitted to send delegations:
France
*
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
,
President
*Admiral
Georges Cabanier
Admiral Georges Cabanier (21 November 1906 – 26 October 1976) was a French Naval Officer and Admiral, in addition to Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour.
Military career
Entered into the École Navale in 1925, he navigated on several n ...
, Naval Chief of Staff
*
Geoffroy Chodron de Courcel
Baron Geoffroy Chodron de Courcel (11 September 1912, Tours - 9 December 1992, Paris), was a French nobleman, soldier and diplomat.
He was Aide-de-Camp to Charles de Gaulle in 1940 and escaped to England with the General on 17 June 1940 with t ...
, Ambassador to the United Kingdom
Soviet Union
*
Konstantin Rudnev
Konstantin Rudnev (1911–1980) was a Soviet politician who held various cabinet and public posts. He was the long-term minister of instrument making, automated equipment, and control systems between 1965 and 1980. He played a significant role in ...
,
Deputy Premier
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
*General
Ivan Konev, commander of forces in East Germany
United States
*
Earl Warren
Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitution ...
,
Chief Justice of the United States
*
David K. E. Bruce
David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce (February 12, 1898 – December 5, 1977) was an American diplomat, intelligence officer and politician. He served as ambassador to France, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the United Kingdom, the only American ...
, Ambassador to the United Kingdom
*
Lloyd Hand
Lloyd, Lloyd's, or Lloyds may refer to:
People
* Lloyd (name), a variation of the Welsh word ' or ', which means "grey" or "brown"
** List of people with given name Lloyd
** List of people with surname Lloyd
* Lloyd (singer) (born 1986), American ...
,
Chief of Protocol
*
W. Averell Harriman
William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986), better known as Averell Harriman, was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. The son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman, he served as Secretary of Commerce un ...
, Under Secretary of State
*
Dwight D. Eisenhower, former president and
General of the Army retired
*Ten
US senators
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
, including:
**
J. William Fulbright,
chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee
**
Bourke Hickenlooper
Bourke Blakemore Hickenlooper (July 21, 1896 – September 4, 1971), was an American politician and member of the Republican Party, first elected to statewide office in Iowa as lieutenant governor, serving from 1939 to 1943 and then as the 29t ...
, ranking
Republican, Foreign Relations Committee
**
Henry M. Jackson
The chief members of the delegation were initially Warren,
Secretary of State Dean Rusk, and Bruce. However, while in London, Rusk became ill and so did not attend, resulting in Hand becoming a chief representative.
Prominent absences
Irish President
The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces.
The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.Constitut ...
Éamon de Valera wasn't invited,
being an outspoken antagonist of Churchill, particularly for the latter's involvement in the
partition of Ireland. Upon hearing the death, he praised Churchill as "a great Englishman", while adding that he had also been "a dangerous adversary" for Ireland.
He had stirred a controversy as he signed
Adolf Hitler's condolence book on 2 May 1945 at the German Embassy in Dublin two days after Hitler's death.
US President Lyndon Johnson did not attend upon the advice of his doctors after hospitalisation for influenza, and the American delegation was instead led by Chief Justice Earl Warren.
Johnson's decision to send Warren rather than
Vice President Hubert Humphrey, for no particular reason, provoked sharp criticism in newspapers in the US, Britain, and elsewhere abroad.
The
White House press corps repeatedly questioned
Press Secretary George Reedy
George Edward Reedy (August 5, 1917 – March 21, 1999) was the tenth White House Press Secretary, and served under President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1964 to 1965.
Life and career
Born in East Chicago, Indiana, Reedy attended Senn High School in ...
for an explanation of the absence.
Johnson said during a press conference that not sending Humphrey was a "mistake."
Media coverage
News of death
The
BBC relayed the news of the death at 9:00 a.m.
and continued playing
Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven, the opening theme with three short notes and a long note that indicated the letter "V" in
Morse code
Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...
to symbolise Churchill's iconic wartime gesture, two fingers held aloft to show "
V" for victory.
Coverage of state funeral
The funeral was watched by 25 million people in the United Kingdom;
it was not, however, broadcast live in Ireland.
There were 350 million viewers worldwide, making it a record for a television event at the time.
In Britain, the funeral was broadcast live on BBC, presented by
Richard Dimbleby,
and on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
with Brian Connell doing the commentary. This would be the last state occasion Dimbleby would present because he died in December that year from cancer.
In North America, which is five to eight hours behind
Greenwich Mean Time, the funeral occurred during the time usually taken up by network
breakfast television programmes. However, then, the only such programme in the United States was
NBC ''Today'', but it wasn't broadcast on Saturdays. Although the funeral took place in the early morning hours in North America, the audience in the United States was larger than
JFK's funeral fourteen months before.
NBC had the highest ratings among the three networks at the time (
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
,
CBS, and NBC) for their live coverage,
with
Chet Huntley,
David Brinkley, and
Merrill Mueller
Merrill Mueller (January 27, 1916 – November 30, 1980) was an American journalist whose reporting included breaking the story of Hitler's invasion of Poland. He worked for numerous news agencies including the Independent News Service and NBC. W ...
(himself a former NBC London bureau chief) presenting the coverage live from London.
The networks also carried highlights of the funeral in the evening hours.
Aftermath
As Lady Churchill was retiring to bed she said to her daughter
Mary (Lady Soames, Baroness Soames), "It wasn't a funeral, Mary – it was a triumph."
The Scots Guards ''Battalion Digest'' reported, stating, "without a doubt the State Funeral of 30 January was the most moving parade that the majority of the battalion had ever taken part in or observed. Perfect timing, detailed rehearsal and greater dignity all combined to make it a proud and wonderful occasion."
''
The Observer'' reported on 31 January, saying, "This was the last time that London would be the capital of the world. This was an act of mourning for the imperial past. This marked the final act in Britain's greatness... It was a triumph. It was a celebration of a great thing that we did in the past."
Within a week, more than 100,000 people had visited the grave.
In 1998, Churchill's tombstone had to be replaced due to the large number of visitors over the years having eroded it and its surrounding area. A new stone was dedicated in 1998 in a ceremony attended by members of the Spencer-Churchill family.
De Gaulle commented: "Now Britain is no longer a great power."
See also
*
Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher
References
Inline citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Original BBC footage of Churchill's funeralChurchill's Funeral - Order of Service - UK Parliament Living HeritageFuneral profile at St Paul's"Churchill's Final Journey" by Railway MuseumTributes to Churchill on BBC archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Winston
1965 in London
Deaths by person in London
Funerals by person
January 1965 events in the United Kingdom
State funerals in the United Kingdom
Winston Churchill