de bene esse: Echoes of Churchill's funeral: Thatcher is laid to rest

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

48 years, two months, 16 days and a few minutes separate the images of two solemn events. Other than a few radical additions to the City of London’s skyline, it was as if time stood still. There are remarkable similarities between both scenes.

A tale of two leaders: Crowds line Fleet Street as Sir Winston Churchill's coffin is led to St Paul's Cathedral on January 30, 1965. Yesterday, soldiers and public lined the same historic street to pay their respects to Baroness Thatcher as she was laid to rest

The funeral cortege of Sir Winston Churchill on January 30, 1965 compared identically to Baroness Thatcher’s funeral cortege.

Both events were photographed from the same position, as the processions passed along Fleet Street on the way to St Paul’s. On both occasions, crowds lined the streets to pay their last respects as the Union Jack-draped coffins passed by on gun carriages and the military featured heavily with similar pomp.

Sir Winston’s was a full state funeral, whereas Baroness Thatcher’s was a ceremonial occasion but there are few real differences between them, except that a state funeral is approved by a vote in Parliament and at a state funeral the deceased is expected to lie in state for three days in Westminster Hall to allow public viewing.

321,360 people filed past the catafalque while Sir Winston laid in state.

Sombre: The Queen at Churchill's funeral and striking a similar pose yesterday, on April 16th

As Sir Winston lay in state, Vincent Mulchrone famously wrote: ‘Two rivers run silently through London tonight, and one is made of people. Dark and quiet as the night-time Thames itself, it flows through Westminster Hall, eddying about the foot of the rock called Churchill.’
Silent crowds watched as Churchill’s coffin left Westminster Hall as Big Ben struck 9.45am and started its journey through London, the skyline then dominated by the dome of St Paul’s and free from skyscrapers.

Scenic changes 38 years later, includes the 2003, 591ft Gherkin on the former site of the Baltic Exchange. Towering between it and St Paul’s is now the Leadenhall Building, which will be 737ft when completed. Another notable change in the scene today is the removal of the railway bridge over Ludgate Hill.

Sir Winston Churchill's gun carriage is brought past the Houses of Parliament in 1965

Standing tall: Winston Churchill's gun carriage goes past the Houses of Parliament in 1965, and Baroness Thatcher's hearse took the same route yesterday

By decree of the Queen, Sir Winston Churchill's body lay in State in Westminster Hall for three days and a state funeral service was held at St Paul's Cathedral in 1965

The echoes of Winston Churchill's funeral were felt throughout the day as Baroness Thatcher was laid to rest

At Sir Winston’s funeral the mourners were led by his wife, Lady Clementine Churchill, his son Randolph and daughters Mary Soames and Lady Sarah Audley.
The Queen and the Duke Edinburgh attended, as did the Queen Mother and the then teenage Prince Charles. Together with the then Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, and representatives of 112 countries packed into the cathedral for the service.

The Queen struck an almost identical pose, her handbag hooked over her left arm and hands clutched in front, as she contemplated the loss of Sir Winston, the first of the 12 Prime Ministers to have served during her reign.

Whereas Baroness Thatcher was cremated after her funeral service, Sir Winston was laid to rest in the Oxfordshire parish churchyard of Bladon, close to Blenheim Palace where he was born 90 years before, with only family members present.