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This is a small archive of five documents from the 30 January 1965 state funeral of Sir Winston S. Churchill. It is unusual to find a coherent set of such items identifiably belonging to a specific individual in this case, Charles Paul Greenway, 3rd Baron Greenway (1917-1975). The current (4th) Lord Greenway is one of ninety elected hereditary peers remaining in the House of Lords after passage of the House of Lords Act 1999.The documents included are: an embossed, printed, stamped, an original ticket to the funeral issued by the Earl Marshal of England; printed "GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS" from the Earl Marshal for invited guests; a franked and stamped "ON HER MAJESTY S SERVICE" stationery envelope; two booklets available at the funeral - 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. The issuer of these documents, the Earl Marshal of England, is the hereditary office of the Duke of Norfolk whose duties include organizing major ceremonial state occasions, such as coronations and state funerals.The ticket is embossed with the sigil of the "EARL MARSHAL OF ENGLAND". In calligraphy it specifies Block "A" and Row "17" and admittance for "The Lord Greenway". The "GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS" document specifies the items provided (Letter of Invitation, Acceptance/Refusal Form, Seating Ticket, and Car Label) and provides information on dress, transport, entry time, and entry location for the Cathedral. The first two items specified as included with the GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS the Letter of Invitation and Acceptance/Refusal Form are crossed out with a single line in black ink. The "ON HER MAJESTY S SERVICE" envelope which conveyed the formal invitation documents features the typed London address of "The Lord Greenway". To the right is the ink-stamped frank from "THE HOUSE OF LORDS S.W.1 OFFICIAL PAID". At the lower left is an elaborate, crowned ink stamp of the "HOUSE OF LORDS". The envelope was roughly opened upon receipt, but is nonetheless complete. The invitation is fine apart from "Greenway" inked in blue-green on the verso. The General Instructions are creased once vertically and thrice horizontally ostensibly from original posting.The final two documents were available at the funeral itself a pair of booklets that detail the elaborate funeral proceedings for Winston Churchill. These are The Ceremonial to be Observed at the Funeral of The Right Honourable Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill and The Order of Service for the Funeral of The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill. Both of these documents are in very good condition, apart from the same inked notation on each upper left front cover verso. The blue-green ink and hand ostensibly that of the Baron reads "Present | Greenway | 3rd Baron & Baroness | of Stanbridge Earls in | the County of Southampton."On Sunday, 24 January 1965, Winston Churchill died at the age of 90. He had already 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. The next day, on25 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." Churchill's full state funeral at the Cathedral of St. Paul in London was attended by the Queen, other members of the royal family, Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and representatives of 112 countries.Churchill was interred in St. Martin s churchyard, Bladon, Oxfordshire. It was the first time in a century that a British monarch attended a commoner s funeral.
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