Churchill Funeral Barge Up For Auction.

Churchill Funeral Barge Up For Auction.

The barge that bore the body of World War Two leader Winston Churchill down the River Thames during his state funeral 40 years ago will go on sale next month and is expected to make over one million pounds.

Havengore, 87 feet (26.5 metres) long and 17 feet wide, entered the annals of history on January 30, 1965 when it carried Churchill's flag-draped coffin past dock cranes with their jibs lowered in mute tribute to the nation's hero.

Havengore, commissioned in 1954 and launched two years later, had a dual life as a working survey boat in the Thames estuary and a ceremonial transport craft carrying royalty and overseas visitors.

Decommissioned in 1995 and completely restored, the barge now works only on ceremonial occasions -- most recently leading a flotilla of small ships down the Thames in tribute to naval hero Horatio Nelson in September.

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