The Order of Service and The Ceremonial To Be Observed for the Funeral of The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, K.G., O.M., C.H., 30th January 1965 by The Earl Marshal of England, the Duke of Norfolk - 1965

London: Her Majestys Stationery Office, 1965. First edition. Pamphlet. These two scarce and lovely booklets are The Order of Service and The Ceremonial To Be Observed printed specifically for those invited to attend Churchills elaborate state funeral ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral on 30 January 1965. On Sunday, 24 January 1965, Winston Churchill died at the age of 90. By the time of his death, he had become a living national memorial" of the time he had lived and the Nation, Empire, and free world he had served. His death completed his transformation into a national icon.

Both The Ceremonial to be Observed at the Funeral and The Order of Service for the Funeral were beautifully printed on heavy paper stock by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Both booklets were bound in cardstock wraps printed and bordered in deep purple with the Churchill arms on both covers. The Ceremonial to be Observed at the Funeral measures 10.5 x 7.25 inches and is 12 pages in length. The Order of Service for the Funeral measures 7.25 x 5.25 inches, and is 20 pages in length.

Condition of The Order of Service is truly fine crisp, clean, bright, and tight with sharp corners and no soiling, spotting, fading, or appreciable wear. Condition of the Ceremonial to be Observed is very good bright, clean, and complete but with a horizontal crease and light soiling to the blank rear cover.

The day after Churchill died, on 25 January, the Queen sent a message to Parliament announcing: "Confident in the support of Parliament for the due acknowledgement of our debt of gratitude and in thanksgiving for the life and example of a national hero" and concluded "I have directed that Sir Winston's body shall lie in State in Westminster Hall and that thereafter the funeral service shall be held in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul. This was in accord with longstanding plans; twelve years before, in 1953, at the direction of Queen Elizabeth II, planning for Churchills eventual state funeral had begun. The elaborate plans running to hundreds of pages were overseen by the Duke of Norfolk, hereditary Earl Marshal of England, and came to be called Operation Hope Not.

Churchill's full state funeral at the Cathedral of St. Paul in London was attended by the Queen herself, other members of the royal family, the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, and representatives of 112 countries. Churchill was interred in St. Martins churchyard, Bladon, Oxfordshire. It was the first time in a century that a British monarch attended a commoners funeral.

The outpouring of national and international sorrow and regard - from friends and foes, sympathizers and opponents alike - was both remarkable and effusive. Before the service in St. Pauls Cathedral, Churchills coffin had passed through the countryside on a train. The Oxford don, Dr. A. L. Rowse, recorded The Western sky filled with the lurid glow of winter sunset; the sun setting on the British Empire.