MEMORIES of Sir Winston Churchill’s final journey to Bladon are to be tracked down ahead of the 50th anniversary of the iconic Prime Minister’s death.
The National Railway Museum in York has called on the public to talk about their memories of the day his funeral train travelled from Waterloo to Oxfordshire.
Sir Winston Churchchill
Thousands of people flanked the railway track to watch the wartime statesman’s journey to Hanborough and his ancestral parish of St Martin’s in Bladon, where he was buried alongside his parents Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill.
Although the Churchill family didn’t want Sir Winston’s grave to become a tourist attraction, thousands of people come to pay their respects to the Second World War leader at his grave every year.
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The Rev Claire Hayns, curate of St Martins Church in Bladon, said: “We’re privileged to be the final resting place of so many members of the Churchill family.
“During the centenary [of the start of the First World War], we have noticed far more people coming to remembrance services, as well as visiting Churchill’s grave.
David Monk-Steel with memorabilia from Sir Winston Churchill’s train
“Remembering his final journey is important as it keeps the memory alive of such a great statesman.”
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Churchill’s final train journey, Friends of the National Railway Museum organised a restoration of Churchill’s funeral train.
The engine, locomotive No 34501 Winston Churchill, currently in Hertfordshire, will travel to York early next year and will be housed in the museum’s great hall.
As part of the exhibition, Churchill’s Final Journey, the museum are asking members of the public to give their memories of the funeral train passing by.
Churchill was the only Prime Minister to receive a state funeral in the 20th Century, which was held at St Paul’s Cathedral on January 30, 1965.
Nearly 300 million people watched the solemn send-off on television worldwide.
After the service in the City of London, Churchill’s remains were transported by a funeral train from London Waterloo to Hanborough.
Rector of Blenheim Canon Adrian Daffern added: “We are already seeing a real increase in numbers of visitors as the 50th anniversary of Sir Winston’s death approaches.”
The cortege passes through Trafalgar Square
Former clerk in an engineer’s office, David Monk-Steel, of York, has already contributed his memories to the museum. He headed to Clapham Junction as the train passed through London.
Mr Monk Steel said: “The British Transport Police were in attendance but they did not seek to chase us away so we settled in to wait. I tried to capture a couple of pictures with my Kodak 127 camera, a cheap and cheerful contraption that took only eight frames, and was for me on my lowly clerk’s wages an expensive luxury.”
The coffin is placed in the funeral train at Waterloo Station
The Churchill’s Final Journey exhibition will run from January 30 until May 3, 2015, at the National Rail Museum in York.
If you have a story about Churchill’s final train journey, call the Oxford Mail on 01865 425 429.
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