January 1, 1970

On 30 January 1965, following the State Funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral, the Havengore carried the chief mourners and Churchill’s coffin by water from Tower Pier to Festival Pier, opposite Waterloo Station, its journey broadcast to millions around the world.

Fifty years later, on 30 January 2015, the Havengore retraced the same route at the same time of day, again bearing members of the Churchill family and some of those who played a key part in the events of that day fifty years earlier. Tower Bridge was specially raised to allow the Havengore to pass through, and the journey culminated in a short service and a wreath-laying, by commanders of the Bearer Parties that carried Churchill’s coffin, in the waters of the River Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament.