January 1, 1970

The coffin then travelled by train – a Battle of Britain steam locomotive called ‘Winston Churchill’ – to Oxfordshire and its final stop at Handborough. Thousands of silent mourners lined the tracks and station platforms, paying their final respects as the train passed through English towns and fields, on its way to Churchill’s beloved Blenheim and the churchyard at Bladon.

The National Railway Museum in York are displaying the locomotive to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the event (and the last time a steam locomotive would be used in a state funeral). Visitors will be able to see the locomotive for the first time since its cosmetic restoration at the Mid-Hants Railway, displayed alongside the baggage van which carried Churchill’s coffin, the first time these two vehicles have been together since the funeral itself.

For more information, and an opportunity for anyone who has personal recollections or photographs of Churchill’s final journey to share these with the National Railway Museum’s visitors, please click here.