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Britain commemorates 50th anniversary of Churchill's funeral

Xinhua, January 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

A series of remembrance events marking the 50th anniversary of Britain's wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill's state funeral are held Friday across the country.

The remembrance service took place at the House of Parliament. British Prime Minister David Cameron said the former prime minister was a great Briton, who must never be forgotten.

"Half a century after his death, Winston Churchill's legacy continues to inspire not only the nation whose liberty he saved, but the entire world. His words and his actions reverberate through our national life today," Cameron said.

The BBC Parliament channel rebroadcasted the original coverage of Churchill's funeral. Churchill's grandson, granddaughter and great-grandson laid a wreath at his statue in Parliament Square on Friday morning.

The Havengore, the boat which carried Churchill's coffin on Jan. 30, 1965, will replicate the journey along the Thames later, from the Tower of London to Westminster, and Tower Bridge will be raised at 12:45 p.m.. Churchill's family will travel on the boat.

While the boat reaches the waters opposite the Palace of Westminster, special service and wreath laying in the waters will be held.

A ceremony to commemorate the funeral anniversary will be held at Westminster Abbey at 6:00 p.m..

National Railway Museum in York on Friday began to display the locomotive, which carried Churchill's family and other mourners from Waterloo station in London to Oxfordshire before his burial. The locomotive was named Winston Churchill, and this is the first time it displayed to the public. Enditem