EXCLUSIVE Save Churchill’s barge! It’s the vessel that took our greatest leader on his final journey down the Thames as dock workers lowered their cranes in tribute, but now there are fears it could be sold abroad
- Vessel on which Churchill was borne on his funeral could be lost to the nation
It was the defining moment of Sir Winston Churchill’s state funeral in 1965. In a poignant tribute, as a barge carrying the wartime leader’s coffin sailed slowly down the River Thames, dock workers lowered their cranes.
But now, The Mail on Sunday can reveal, the wooden survey vessel on which Britain’s greatest statesman was borne on his final journey could be lost to the nation.
Havengore, first launched in 1956, has been put on sale to international bidders after its owner failed to find a British buyer. It means the iconic teak and brass vessel could be taken overseas and used as a pleasure boat.
Last night Boris Johnson, who has written a biography of Churchill, led a chorus of voices calling for the historic vessel to be saved. The former Prime Minister said: ‘This boat is part of the history of our country and it deserves to remain here.’
Broadcaster and historian Jonathan Dimbleby, whose father Richard provided stirring commentary for the BBC’s coverage of the funeral, also said he hoped the vessel would remain in the UK.
Winston Churchill (pictured), who was the British Prime Minister during the Second World War, passed away in 1965
Havengore, first launched in 1956, has been put on sale to international bidders after its owner failed to find a British buyer
The wooden survey vessel on which Britain’s greatest statesman was borne on his final journey could be lost to the nation
Richard Dimbleby’s immortal words – ‘And so Havengore sails into history – not even the Golden Hind has borne so great a man’ – are included on a plaque mounted on the ship.
Jonathan Dimbleby said: ‘I think it would be wonderful if this iconic barge, which is in so many memories as we mourned the final departure of Winston Churchill along the Thames, could be retained in this country and that the funds could be raised to make that possible.’
Havengore, an 85ft former Port of London Authority hydrographic survey vessel, was mainly used to map changes to the seabed in the Thames Estuary.
In 1965, however, it achieved global prominence when – in front of a then record TV audience of 350 million – it was tasked with carrying Churchill’s coffin from his funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral to Waterloo Station, from where a train took him to the family burial plot in Oxfordshire.
Chris Ryland, 75, bought the vessel for £780,000 in 2006, and it is now on sale for £800,000 – down from the £2 million asking price initially suggested by a yacht broker.
‘I’ve been trying to sell her for 18 months, but I haven’t been able to find a buyer in Britain,’ Mr Ryland said. ‘It’s got to the point where I’ve had to put her on the international market.
‘I’m devastated, but things have to change. I’ve reached a certain age and was recently diagnosed with cancer. Someone else needs to step in and take the project on.’
Military historian and Churchill biographer Anthony Tucker-Jones called on a national museum to step in and buy the vessel for Britain.
‘I think it would be good if someone like the Imperial War Museum were to take it over and display it on the Thames next to HMS Belfast,’ he said. ‘It is part of our heritage and it does have historic significance.’
The Havengore, pictured here undergoing refurbishment at Chatham Dock in Kent, it is now on sale for £800,000
Grenadier Guard Bearers with the coffin of Sir Winston Churchill on the River Thames heading for the Festival Hall Pier
Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry, a retired Royal Navy officer, suggested National Lottery funding should be used. ‘It has symbolic and historic value. It’s unique and should be saved for Britain.
‘The asking price is peanuts when it comes to Lottery funding. Money could also be raised via crowdsourcing. We need to invest in the structural value of our heritage, because if we don’t we won’t have any.’
Vice Admiral Sir Jeremy Blackham, former deputy chief of defence staff, added: ‘I remember the moment well – the barge moving up the river and the cranes dipping – and it would be a pity if it were to be lost to the country.’
Ted Gradosielski, the Master of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames, said he hoped the Havengore would go to a British buyer.
‘It would be marvellous if someone could buy it and keep it in England, especially in London,’ he said. ‘It’s a historic boat and its involvement with Churchill’s funeral means a lot of people will have seen it – it’s got a real link with history.’
Havengore, which is currently moored at St Katharine Docks in East London, also sailed down the Thames during celebrations for Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
It has been a stalwart of the national Armistice Day commemorations every November, when it sails to Westminster to lay wreaths in the Thames.
Mr Ryland’s son-in-law, Mike Ryland-Epton, said: ‘It’s one more thing for Chris to worry about, and his focus needs to be on getting better, hence we really need to sell the vessel to save its future as well.
‘She could go anywhere in the world, and I have been advised that at this price she will sell.’
Source: Read Full Article