January 1, 1970

These notes were made by Captain Barry De Morgan, who was the Adjutant of the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars at the time of Churchill’s State funeral and was Commander of the Bearer Party taking his coffin from Waterloo to the private burial at Bladon. Churchill had been Colonel of the 4th Queen’s Own Hussars and deputy Colonel of the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars.

Sunday, 24 January 1965: Bearer Party arrived in England. Stayed in Chelsea Barracks, RSM Holberton and Captain De Morgan [sic] attended first briefing and reconnaissance at Waterloo Station.

Monday, 25 January: Bearer Party rehearsal with Grenadier Guards Bearer Party in Chelsea Barracks. The practice coffin was very heavy and the Bearer party had great difficulty in moving many steps. It was evident that a lot of practice was going to be required. For all rehearsals a smart hearse and very smooth pall bearer were provided and we were given valuable advice by the latter.

Tuesday, 26 January: Rehearsal at Waterloo Station. British Rail provided the specially converted coach but due to the low roof and narrow door, manoeuvring of the coffin was extremely difficult. A long ramp was therefore built which stretched right across the platform to the road. We continued rehearsing throughout the day, but it became apparent that the NCOs found the going very tough and could only practice for very short periods at a time. One of the big problems was that their shoulders became very sore and required some form of padding.

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Wednesday, 27 January: On this day we concentrated on lowering the coffin into the grave. Obviously there was no grave in London and so we used one of the vehicle pits of the Welsh Guards MT. The web straps used for lowering slid too easily through the bearers’ hands and to counteract this we used water on the gloves. The other snag was that when manoeuvring the coffin from the shoulder to the lower position the Balaclava buttons popped off (so much for the modern stay-bright button). To avoid such a calamity on the day I ordered officer-type buttons from the regimental tailor.

Thursday, 28 January: This was the rehearsal day at Bladon. On arrival at this tiny station there were a mass of photographers and also at the church, as no press was allowed there on the day of the funeral.

Saturday, 30 January: Taken to Waterloo Station by bus, and marched on to No.11 platform approximately half an hour before the coffin was due. There was a blaze of television lights which was warming on so cold a day. As the hearse arrived the cameras clicked and whirred. Mr Holberton stepped smartly forward and opened the rear door. The Bearer Party closed in and on the command ‘Prepare to lift’ withdrew the coffin. For one horrid moment I felt that the weight would be too much as it was obviously heavier than the practice coffin. The hearse drew away and the Bearer Party lifted the coffin onto their shoulders. Slowly we marched up the ramp to the coach door. Here the coffin was lowered to chest height and the party sidestepped into the coach and laid the coffin on a special bier. The mourners took their places on the train. An officer from the Grenadier Guards cut the threads holding on Sir Winston’s Order of the Garter to the coffin and bore the insignia away. Two of the bearer party were posted one at either end of the coffin, the doors were closed and the train slowly pulled out of the station. All the way down to Bladon the station platforms were crowded with people paying their last respects. A football game stopped and the players stood to attention facing the train. A lorry driver in a quarry stood on the bonnet of his vehicle with his hat removed. Even children stopped at their play. Regrettably however even though the journey went without a hitch British Rail were unable to avoid a two minute hold-up outside Reading.

On arrival at Bladon the coffin was placed in the hearse and moved slowly down the main Oxford Road to the small churchyard. The crowds, in respect for the Churchill family, kept their distance and when we arrived at the church there were no photographers except, as we discovered later, a journalist from Paris Match who with a powerful lens managed to photograph the cortege moving towards the grave. Sergeant Webb’s medals dropped into the grave after having been pulled from his uniform by the sheer weight of the coffin. They were later retrieved for him.