The Royal Navy State Funeral Gun Carriage is a converted Ordnance, BL, 12 pdr 6 cwt, MK II, gun carriage which has been used in the UK to bear the coffin at the funeral processions of:

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

;

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

;

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

;

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

;

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

;

Admiral of the Fleet An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...

The 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma; and

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. It is traditionally pulled by members of the Royal Navy; when not in use, it is kept at the

shore establishment A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. 'Stone frigate' is an informal term which has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy (RN), after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a ' sloop of war' to harass the French in ...

HMS ''Excellent''. A smaller version, known as the Portsmouth Gun Carriage, has been used at the ceremonial funerals of several senior naval officers in the 20th century.

Manufacture

The

gun carriage A gun carriage is a frame or a mount that supports the gun barrel of an artillery piece, allowing it to be maneuvered and fired. These platforms often had wheels so that the artillery pieces could be moved more easily. Gun carriages are also use ...

is from a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Ordnance, BL, 12 pdr 6 cwt, MK II, gun and weighs . The carriage was made by Vickers, Sons and Maxim in 1896 and entered storage at the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proof test, proofing, and explosives research for ...

, Woolwich, being recorded as No. 146. The carriage never saw active service, probably being retained as part of a reserve.

had seen a gun carriage used during the funeral of her son, the Duke of Albany, and requested the same for her funeral. In 1899, No. 146 was handed to the Royal Carriage Department for conversion for use in state funerals. A

catafalque A catafalque is a raised bier, box, or similar platform, often movable, that is used to support the casket, coffin, or body of a dead person during a Christian funeral or memorial service. Following a Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, a catafalqu ...

and rubber tyres were added but other fittings and fixtures were left unchanged.

Victoria's funeral

The carriage was used during the

state funeral of Queen Victoria Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, died on 22 January 1901 at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, at the age of 81. At the time of her death, she was the longest-reigning monarch in Briti ...

in 1901. In the days after Victoria's death the carriage was issued to the X Battery of the

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...

(RHA). It was to carry the Queen's coffin from Windsor railway station to

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

, where it would be interred in the adjacent Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore on 2 February. According to the

Naval Historical Society of Australia The Naval Historical Society of Australia offers research facilities to its membership, which is open to all with an interest in the subject. Its aims and objectives are: :"To research, record and collate the history of all Navies, but particular ...

there are two accounts of the events that followed. According to a naval observer, Lieutenant Percy Noble, the RHA's horses had not been exercised while awaiting the Royal Train's arrival and were unhappy when the coffin was placed on the carriage. They are said to have reared up and threatened to topple the coffin. Noble stated that

Prince Louis of Battenberg Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven (24 May 185411 September 1921), formerly Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg, was a British naval officer and German prince related by marriage to the British royal family. Although ...

asked the Royal Navy party commander, Lieutenant Algernon Boyle, for his sailors to pull the carriage. The army officer in charge of X Battery at the funeral, Lieutenant M.L. Goldie, stated instead that an eye hole on the carriage splinter bar broke when his horses moved off. Confusion followed as various officers and officials attempted to exert control over the situation that prevented him from carrying out immediate repairs. The end result was that sailors of the Royal Navy pulled the carriage to Windsor Castle, with a team of sailors using improvised drag ropes, made up from the horse harnesses and the

communication cord Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not only transmit ...

taken from the royal train. This started a tradition that has been upheld at all subsequent state funerals.

Later history

After Victoria's funeral, the Royal Navy retained the carriage; they may have refused to return it to the army. The navy was formally given the carriage by George V in 1910. The carriage has since been used at the funerals of

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

, Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

Lord Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was ...

, and

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. It is stored at the shore establishment HMS ''Excellent'', near Portsmouth. The staff instructors' mess displays the ropes used at the funeral of Edward VII. In storage the carriage is moved slightly every seven days, to allow its wheels to turn by a quarter to prevent them from being deformed. The carriage, including its gun barrel, are regularly polished. The carriage is held at 24-hours readiness for service in a facility kept at a constant temperature of and between 40 and 70% humidity to hinder fungal growth. Most recently, the gun carriage made its first appearance in 43 years for the funeral procession from

Westminster Hall Westminster Hall is a medieval great hall which is part of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. It was erected in 1097 for William II (William Rufus), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe. The building has had various functio ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

for the state funeral of

on 19 September 2022. It was transported by 138

naval rating In military terminology, a rate or rating (also known as bluejacket in the United States) is a junior enlisted sailor in a navy who is below the military rank of warrant officer. Depending on the country and navy that uses it, the exact te ...

s, with 98 pulling, in front of the carriage, and 40 behind, braking, with 4 officers walking alongside the 40 brakers, 4 officers walking alongside the pullers, and 2 further officers leading the 138. After the service at the abbey the carriage was used again, attended by 137 naval ratings (one having fallen ill), to carry the coffin to Constitution Hill where it was transferred to the

state hearse The state hearse is a vehicle of the Royal Mews used for funerals of the British royal family. Based on a Jaguar XJ model, it was designed by the Royal Household and Jaguar Land Rover with the input of and approval from Elizabeth II and conver ...

for its journey from

Wellington Arch The Wellington Arch, also known as the Constitution Arch or (originally) as the Green Park Arch, is a Grade I-listed triumphal arch by Decimus Burton that forms a centrepiece of Hyde Park Corner in central London, at the corner where Hyde ...

St George's Chapel St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal Peculiar (a church und ...

at Windsor Castle for interment. This occasion marked the first time in history that women of the Royal Navy were part of the gun carriage crew.

Uses

Portsmouth Gun Carriage

A smaller gun carriage, called the Portsmouth Gun Carriage, is stored at , a shore establishment at

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

in Hampshire, and has been used for eight ceremonial funerals of senior naval officers between 1935 and 1967. These include

Earl Jellicoe Earl Jellicoe is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created, along with the subsidiary title Viscount Brocas, of Southampton in the County of Southampton, on 29 June 1925 for Admiral of the Fleet John Jellicoe, 1st Viscount J ...

, Earl Beatty, Sir

Dudley Pound Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pickman Rogers Pound (29 August 1877 – 21 October 1943) was a British senior officer of the Royal Navy. He served in the World War I, First World War as a battleship co ...

, and Viscount Cunningham. A plaque on the carriage records that it originally came from HMS ''Pembroke'' in

Chatham, Kent Chatham ( ) is a town within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. In 2020 it had a population of 80,596. Th ...

, and was first used for the funeral of Sir Charles Madden at Westminster Abbey on 7 June 1935. It is a QF 12-pounder 8 cwt gun carriage, usually pulled by a team of 18 ratings.

Gallery

File:Funeral of Edward VII -1910 -cropped.JPG, Royal Navy State Funeral Gun Carriage at funeral of Edward VII, 1910 File:4125s2.ogv, Funeral procession of Edward VII, London, 1910 (see 2:30 mins) File:Begrafenis Churchill vanaf televisie, de kist, Bestanddeelnr 917-3888.jpg, Royal Navy State Funeral Gun Carriage at Churchill's funeral, January 1965 File:Queen_Elizabeth_II's_Funeral_and_Procession_(19.Sep.2022)_-_14.jpg, The gun carriage in 2022 at Elizabeth II's funeral File:Queen_Elizabeth_II's_Funeral_and_Procession_(19.Sep.2022)_-_26.jpg, File:Queen_Elizabeth_II's_Funeral_and_Procession_(19.Sep.2022)_-_27.jpg,

External links

* - newsreel of Queen Victoria's State Funeral showing firstly the horse drawn gun carriage and secondly (from 1:10), the carriage hauled by naval ratings at Windsor railway station. * - newsreel of the ceremonial funeral of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound, showing the smaller Portsmouth Gun Carriage.

References

{{Reflist 1896 establishments in England Articles containing video clips Royal Navy State funerals in the United Kingdom Human-powered transport