AS THE village bobby it fell to Donald Thompson to help prepare and guard the churchyard for Sir Winston Churchill’s burial.

On January 30, it will be 50 years since the former Prime Minister was buried at St Martin’s Church in Bladon.

As a volunteer Special Constable Mr Thompson was charged with guarding the graveyard gates on the day.

Now 80, he said: “The superintendent said as the village bobby I should have the privilege to be at the gate to stop people from coming in unless they were officials.”

Our top stories

After a state funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, Sir Winston’s body was brought to the church by train and hearse.

It was a private ceremony, with fewer than 50 people in attendance.

Mr Thompson, who now lives in Witney with his wife Judith, said: “The whole village was closed off at 11am to stop traffic coming in. It was a very cold day.

“When I let the funeral procession in there were eight or nine cars plus the hearse. Lady Churchill was there plus lots of VIPs. His doctor was there as well.

“It was a very short service. Then they went back in the cars and I let them all out again.”

Witney Gazette:

  • Members of the public file past Churchill’s grave at the church in Bladon in 1965

Once the burial was over staff arranged flowers over the grave and then the church was opened up to the public to pay their respects.

Great-grandfather Mr Thompson said: “I helped to unbox the wreaths that had been sent up from London.

“I happened to open Her Majesty the Queen’s wreath.

“There was a label on it that said: ‘For the nation and the Commonwealth, with grateful thanks.’ “It was signed Elizabeth R in her handwriting.

“A bloke offered me £250 to sell it to him then and there. I told him it wasn’t worth my job.”

An estimated 75,000 people came through Bladon to pay their respects to Sir Winston.

Mr Thompson, a retired builder, said: “There were people queueing for four hours at a time and there was nowhere to sit down or go to the loo.

“People stayed there all through the afternoon and all night.

“My wife Judith went to pay her respects at midnight and she still had to queue to get in.

“They had to get the fire brigade from Woodstock down with generators to put up floodlights so people didn’t fall in the grave.”

THE ANNIVERSARY

Witney Gazette: GREAT: Sir Winston Churchill giving his familiar “V” sign

  • A stained glass window will be installed at St Martin’s to mark the anniversary.
  • The No. 34051 Winston Churchill train that carried Sir Winston’s body to Oxfordshire has been restored and will go on display at the National Railway Museum in York.
  • Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, where Sir Winston was born, will be hosting a special walk to commemorate the anniversary on January 24.

 

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.