A FUNERAL director has told of how he ploughed £30,000 into Winston Churchill’s hearse to restore it to its former glory.
Christopher Baker claims that the classic vehicle is now almost exactly as it was at the time of the great former PM’s state funeral in 1965.
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Christopher, who owns Memorial Woodlands in Bristol, is currently in possession of the converted Austin Princess that collected Churchill’s body from the Havengore barge on the South Bank before ferrying the coffin to Waterloo Station.
He picked it up for a “modest” sum at an auction over 20 years ago and sent it to Classic Marine Engineers in Suffolk to undergo the restoration process.
This took over three years and involved a “comprehensive overhaul” of the motor.
Christopher told The Mail: “It was a privilege to work on it.
“Apart from a small change to the fuel delivery system, which was necessary for safety, it is restored to how it was in the 1960.”
Amazingly, the hearse is still in service today and is often requested by customers, especially those with a military connection in the family.
Christoper added: “There are still a lot of people who consider that Churchill was a great man and the saviour of his country.
“There are a lot of people who are delighted when we tell them it [the hearse] is available.
“The generation who experienced the war and who see Churchill as a great man are sadly dying.
“But it certainly brings a lot of satisfaction to families to see their loved ones carried in such a way on their final journey.”
Churchill’s funeral was broadcast live on TV and attracted an audience of 25 million in the UK and 350 million globally, a record at the time.
It was also the last state occasion to be presented by the legendary Richard Dimbleby, who himself passed away later that year.
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