Death and state funeral of Winston Churchill


died on 24 January 1965, aged 90. His was the first state funeral for a non-royal family member since Lord Carson in 1935, and as of 2020 it remains the most recent state funeral in the United Kingdom. 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 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. After several revisions due to Churchill's continued survival, the plan was issued on 26 January 1965, two days after his death.
By decree of Queen Elizabeth II, 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. 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 train hauled by Winston Churchill, homage paid by 321,360 people, and witnessed by over 350 million people, it was the largest state funeral in history.

Background and funeral plan

Voted as the greatest Briton in a BBC poll in 2002, Sir Winston Churchill is remembered for leading his country to victory as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. 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, 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 constantly 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.

Illness and death

Churchill died in the morning of Sunday 24 January 1965 in his home at 28 Hyde Park Gate, London. His physician Lord Moran announced the death at 8:35 am. Since 1949, he had suffered eight strokes. The last was 15 January 1965 from which he never recovered. He was in a coma most of the time, and his last words were to his son-in-law Christopher Soames, "I'm bored with it all." The BBC announced the death at 9:00am. The Queen immediately sent a letter of condolence to Lady Churchill, saying:
The next day members of the House of Commons paid tribute.

Funeral programme

Lying in state

The funeral started on 26 January 1965. By 8:30 a.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 am. 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, the Lord Chamberlain in the company of family members. He was placed on a catafalque before Lady Churchill and the Earl Marshall. At 9:00 p.m. the first watch started in the hall by the Grenadier and Coldstream Guards. In the subsequent days the Royal Navy and five regiments of Foot guards also took turns.
Westminster Hall was kept open for 23 hours daily from 26 to 29 January. 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.

Order of service

The funeral service on Saturday 30 January began with the chiming of Big Ben at 9:45 am. The clock was muted for the rest of the day. Ninety cannon salutes were fired at Hyde Park to mark the ninety years of Churchill's life. The coffin was placed on a gun carriage and draped with the Union Flag upon which was the insignia of the Order of the Garter on top of a black cushion. It was carried by a bearer party of eight guards from the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards from the hall. The procession started upon a drum beat by the Royal Navy and was then led by the Royal Air Force and the Foot guards. Following the gun carriage was Lady Churchill in the Queen's town coach and her son Randolph Churchill on foot; followed by family members and Churchill's private secretary, Anthony Montague Browne. The march processed through Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, the Strand, Fleet Street and up Ludgate Hill. A marching band consisted of three officers and 96 soldiers of the Scots Guards 2nd Battalion. Banners of the Danish resistance movements 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 were assigned to carry Churchill's medals, orders and decorations.
After an hour, the service was held at St Paul's Cathedral. 3,500 people attended, including the Queen, who did not normally attend funerals of commoners. Protocol also dictated that the Queen be the last to arrive at an event, but on this occasion she put royal etiquette aside, arriving before Churchill's coffin was in the church. There were 12 pallbearers in the cathedral, including Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies, and the former British Prime Ministers Clement Attlee, Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan. It was the largest gathering of dignitaries in history until the 2005 funeral of Pope John Paul II, with officials from more than 112 countries attending. Guests included the French President Charles de Gaulle, the Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, the Prime Minister of Rhodesia Ian Smith, the former US president Dwight D. Eisenhower, and many other past and present heads of state and government, and members of multiple royal families. Sir Robert Menzies, then the longest serving Commonwealth Prime Minister, who had known Churchill intimately in wartime, paid tribute to his colleague as part of the funeral broadcast, as did President Eisenhower. Churchill's favourite hymns were sung, including the "Battle Hymn of the Republic".
At the thanksgiving, Menzies recited a eulogy:

Burial

After the church service, Churchill's coffin was carried to the Tower of London. The bearer party was led by 60 pipers. The Royal Artillery fired a 19-gun salute acknowledging Churchill's positions. The procession moved to Tower Pier at the Festival Pier, where the coffin was taken on board the MV Havengore. Naval ratings 'piped the side' and the Royal Marine band played the musical salute due a former First Lord of the Admiralty, Rule Britannia. As his coffin passed up the River Thames, more than 36 dockers lowered their crane jibs in a salute as the vessel passed. This was an unrehearsed procedure. The London dockers were paid to lower their cranes. Sixteen Royal Air Force English Electric Lightning fighter jets also flew above in formation as the boat sailed.
From Waterloo Station, the coffin was carried by a specially prepared train, the locomotive of which was named Winston Churchill, to its final destination 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. Churchill was interred in St Martin's Churchyard in a private family ceremony. He was laid in a grave near to his parents and his brother.

Dignitaries

Churchill's funeral was the largest gathering of world leaders during the 1960s and history at that time. 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. The only notable absentee was Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the United States, who was ill at the time. The official representative of the United States was Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States. China was the only country not to send representatives to the funeral.
Some of the guests were:
In addition to that, representatives from countries such as Czechoslovakia, Poland, India, Mexico, Peru,... was presented. A delegation of about 150 ambassadors and low-level diplomats was also presented at the funeral.

Aftermath

As Lady Churchill was retiring to bed she said to her daughter Mary, "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."
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.
Because the funeral took place on 30 January, also the anniversary of Franklin D. Roosevelt's birth, people in the United States marked it by paying tribute to Churchill's friendship with Roosevelt. Those who attended a service at Roosevelt's grave at his home in Hyde Park, New York, heard speakers at the service talk about the coincidence of the date in the records of two leaders who shared history.

Estate at death

On 9 February 1965, in London, probate was granted on Churchill’s estate to Lady Churchill, Mary Soames, and John Rupert Colville, with a valuation for probate of £304,044,.