Greetings again-- I watched the Churchill funeral DVD last night, and it is excellent!! It is from the ITN broadcast, and has clips of the funeral procession from Westminster Hall to St Paul's, and then to Bladon itself.
What I found especially interesting were the highlights of the funeral service itself. There is a bit of a scary moment, as the Irish Guards pallbearers are carrying the coffin up the steps to St Paul's: at the top step, there appears to be a slight shift to the left, and the bearers are struggling a little with their heavy and priceless burden. I kept holding my breath, praying the coffin wouldn't slip from their grasp. It also shows the funeral party at Waterloo Station, as the coffin is borne aboard the train to Bladon. I don't know who the commentator is, but he speaks sparingly, but movingly, as the train leaves London for the last time. And the scene shifts to the Bladon churchyard, as the local citizens wait for the funeral party to arrive. And then there are scenes after the burial, showing some of the floral tributes left. One was from Gamal Abdel Nasser!!! And then the DVD closes, with the citizens of Bladon being allowed into the graveyard, to see the floral tributes heaping over the grave. It's dark, but the people still come to see. IMO, I do think it is worth purchasing. And I do believe there would be a market for Churchillians in America to buy this DVD. It'll definitely be a cherished part of my DVD library. Pat Finnegan Syracuse, NY, USA On Nov 23, 11:30 am, PatFinn1940 <[email protected]> wrote: > Greetings, Antoine and Terry! I will play the US DVD of the > Churchill funeral service, and let you all know what it contains. > The video clips I've seen on YouTube are pretty fuzzy. But I'll look > and see if they've been digitized, to improve the picture quality. > > And I'll definitely check out the link you sent, Antoine. Thanks > again. > > Pat Finnegan > Syracuse, NY, USA > > On Nov 22, 12:42 pm, "Antoine Capet" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Dear Ms Finnegan, > > > For what it is worth, here is a link to my review for H-Museum of the > > Churchill Museum, as it was called when it opened in 2005. > > >http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=h-museum&month=... > > > The lay-out and exhibits may have been modified, but hopefully you will > > recognise some elements seen on your recent visit. > > > Many thanks for your enthusisastic account. > > > Could you please give more details of the "US DVD copy of Mr. Churchill's > > funeral service in 1965" which you mention? All I have seen so far is > > excerpts (including in the Churchill War Rooms). > > > Best wishes, > > > Antoine Capet > > (Rouen, France) > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > From: "PatFinn1940" <[email protected]> > > Sent: Monday, November 22, 2010 6:11 PM > > To: "ChurchillChat" <[email protected]> > > Subject: [ChurchillChat] Visiting the Churchill War Rooms > > > > Greetings to my fellow Churchillians! I recently returned to the US > > > from an incredible visit to the UK and Belgium. There were many > > > highlights to savour and remember--including breakfast with Churchill > > > biographer Sir Martin Gilbert, at St Pancras Station, and meeting Mr. > > > Allen Packwood, the Archivist at the Churchill Archives at Churchill > > > College, Cambridge. Mr. Packwood showed me several of Churchill's > > > childhood and young adult letters to his mother, and part of one of > > > Churchill's photograph albums. > > > > I was also able to visit the Churchill War Rooms in London, and found > > > them to be SO fascinating! The Imperial War Museum is to be > > > commended, for all the work they did in restoring the War Rooms; I > > > really felt like I was part of what was going on in those rooms, in > > > 1940 and 1941. I took a whole lot of photographs, and listened > > > intently to the commentaries on the mobile devices provided. > > > > I also visited Ypres, Belgium, from 10-13 November, and saw the plaque > > > about Mr. Churchill's Great War service, at Ploegsteert, on the city > > > hall's wall (I think that's what it was). I wasn't able to get a > > > photo of that, however; I was on a Great War battlefields tour. > > > > Unfortunately, I couldn't get to Blenheim Palace, or to Bladon. The > > > logistics of getting to Oxford and back were too much, in the time > > > allotted. But I am very hopeful of returning to the UK in the near > > > future, and putting them on my itinerary. At least I was able to buy > > > a US DVD copy of Mr. Churchill's funeral service in 1965, so I can > > > watch it on my computer. > > > > And I also bought a copy of "The WIcked Wit of Winston Churchill", > > > which has provided many moments of laughter! > > > > If anyone wants to hear more about my Cabinet War Rooms visit, please > > > email me. Thanks for letting me post here; I am always learning > > > something new and interesting about Churchill here! > > > > Sincerely, > > > (Ms.) Pat Finnegan > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > > "ChurchillChat" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > [email protected]. > > > For more options, visit this group at > > >http://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat?hl=en.
