Bermondsey's tribute

Fifty years ago today the world watched as the coffin of Sir Winston Churchill was carried down the Thames on its way to Waterloo and then (by train) to its last resting place in Bladon Churchyard, close to the great statesman's Oxfordshire birthplace

There were many memorable sights on that day but the one that stuck in many people's minds was the sight of the cranes which were lowered to half mast as the cortege sailed down the river. It was Bermondsey's own tribute.

Today the Havengore, which had carried the coffin 50 years ago, sailed down the Thames again, with Tower Bridge opened to fullest extent in salute, as crowds lined the river banks.

As a small boy of 5 I don't remember much of the event but I do remember watching the train that carried Churchill's body from the window of my Nan's flat, overlooking the railway lines going into Clapham Junction.

I don't think I knew exactly who Churchill was but the picture of that train carrying the body of a very important man has lodged itself in my memory until this day.