The Grenadier Guards

We are honoured to record the following memories of the State Funeral by two of the Grenadier Guards who formed the bearer party. Our sincere thanks go to Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Mather who, as a young ensign in 1965, commanded the party and Captain (Ret'd) Walter Williams then a Warrant Officer.

The commander of the bearer party was honoured with the M.B.E., Member of the Order of the British Empire. The warrant officer and the remaining members of the party were honoured with the B.E.M., British Empire Medal. Thanks and gratitude from the Nation at that time were also evident through the number of personal letters each guardsman received.

State funerals are traditionally for the sovereign. The Grenadier Guards have the privilege of providing the bearer party and other duties on the death of the Sovereign. This honour was proudly performed for Sir Winston Churchill.

At the beginning of January, 1965, C.S.M. Williams was serving in Germany with the 1st Battalion. He was informed he was to be promoted and posted back to England, to the 2nd Battalion in Windsor.

Approx. 10 days before the death of Sir Winston, C.S.M. Williams attended a meeting in Whitehall with representatives of various organisations, chaired by Major General London District to discuss the plans for the state funeral. C.S.M. Williams was Warrant Officer in charge of the bearer party and can be readily identified in photographs of the bearer party, being the leading guardsman and wearing the red sash worn by Warrant Officers and Sergeants.

Lieutenant Colonel Mather, then a lieutenant, recalls being awoken by a phone call at his home in the early hours of Sunday January 24th, ordering him to return for a meeting scheduled for 8:00am that morning. Prior to this, he was unaware of his pending involvement with the bearer party.

The bearer party, hand picked by Regimental Sargeant Major Randal represented N.C.O.s and men of the battalion. The main party consisted of 10 men, 1 officer, 1 warrant officer and 8 other ranks plus 4 ‘extras’ and a reserve, 15 in total. The ‘extras’ helped when taking the coffin up and down the steps of St. Paul’s and to collect and distribute the bearskins.

Remembering the rehearsals; the irregular hours and weight of the coffin came quickly to mind. Many of the rehearsals for the procession were conducted late at night and/or the very early hours of the morning. These times were obviously quieter in the city and afforded greater privacy. For the Grenadier Guards, taking the coffin on and off ‘Havengore’ meant rehearsals were dictated by the tides!

For rehearsals, the coffin, supplied by Kenyons, was loaded with sand to the correct weight. At one stage, after an exhausting rehearsal, the bearer party was convinced the weight was greater than the 8cwt. they had been told. Late one night, on the back of a truck, the coffin was taken (still wearing union flag) to the C.L.R.D. (Central London Recruiting Depot) where it could be weighed. What a sight it must have been, in this busy London side street when a group of Grenadier Guards took a flag draped coffin, off the back of a truck and lowered it through a trap door. The lead-lined coffin did in fact weigh exactly 8cwt.

During the procession C.S.M. Williams quietly called out the orders to the bearer party. Positioned at the front of the party he could not see what was happening and had to be particularly conscious of the distance between himself and the rest of the party. When marching with the coffin, the bearer party moved their 'inside' feet alternately with their 'outside' feet to minimise movement of the coffin.

For the bearer party duties commenced prior to the lying-in-state. On Tuesday, January 26th, at 9:00pm Kenyons brought the coffin from the private residence of Sir Winston at Hyde Park Gate to Westminster Hall where the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Duke of Norfolk and the members of the family were waiting. The bearer party took the coffin into Westminster Hall and placed it on the catafalque. The Archbishop of Canterbury conducted a small, private family ceremony of prayer.

Whilst formal occasions and fine detail were not new to Grenadier Guards the magnitude of their role as a tribute to this great man on behalf of their Regiment and indeed the whole Nation was striking.

The day of the funeral did offer one chance to relax. The bearer party, once at St. Paul’s Cathedral and the coffin placed on the catalfaque, slowly marched off through a side-door. Via a ‘ labyrinth of corridors, rooms and doors’ they eventually reached a canteen and rest area where tea and biscuits were served, toilets were available and a few welcome cigarettes smoked! This area was staffed by members of the WRVS for the benefit of members of the many organisations involved in the state funeral, police motorcyclists, St.John's ambulance etc. were all there.

General recollections of the day tended to focus on what is easiest to find words for – the physical toll. The eyes of the world upon them, the pressure to perform perfectly, concentrating on the job at hand. January 30th was a bitterly cold and windy day, both guardsmen remember being cold and tired after an early start and a very long day. By the time the party was on the Havengore, they felt relief with the realisation their role had nearly been fulfilled.

There is, however, no doubt as to the honour and pride the members of the bearer party felt in this role. C.S.M. Williams was 13 years of age when war broke out and so well aware of events and morale, overseas and at home. He remembers how Sir Winston, ‘lifted the nation’, that his, ‘charisma, tone, authority and confidence encouraged everyone’ and that, ‘there is no doubt, he was the right man at the right time’.

Captain Williams kindly donated to the Havengore Collection some of his personal memorabilia. After a long, successful career, he retired from the Grenadier Guards in 1979.