A SAILOR from West Devon has spoken of his huge honour after being picked to guide the Queen’s coffin safely and smoothly to her funeral through the streets of central London.
Able seaman Jack Osborne, 24, from Bere Ferrers, was one of a group of sailor handpicked to pull Her Majesty’s coffin on the historic State Gun Carriage from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey and afterwards to the hearse to travel on to Windsor.
Jack, who plays rugby for Tavistock Rugby Club is just six months into his naval training in Portsmouth.
He said: ‘I was on the rear of the gun carriage, acting as the brakes for the coffin, effectively just two rows in front of King Charles. There were 96 people pulling the coffin forwards and 40 of us on the back, so when the carriage stopped we acted as the brakes. It was an incredible experience.’
When they reached Westminster Abbey, Jack and his fellow sailors stood aside to allow the Queen’s coffin to be taken off the gun carriage by the coffin bearers into the abbey for the funeral service.
After the funeral, they were on duty again, to load the coffin onto the State Gun Carriage for its procession, accompanied by the royal family, through the streets of London to Wellington Arch, where the Queen’s coffin was loaded into a hearse to be taken to Windsor Castle, for a private burial that evening.
‘It was really an incredible honour to be part of such a massive occasion,’ said Jack, speaking on Tuesday.
‘We had practised so much from the moment we heard the news of the Queen’s passing through to the day when we had to do it, yesterday, so everything went perfectly. We all knew exactly what we had to do so by the time we had to do it it was just muscle memory, you didn’t need to think about it, which allowed us to feel part of the day and absorb the atmosphere.
‘Obviously, we weren’t allowed to look around but we could feel the atmosphere as we were walking along. It was incredible.’
He said the occasion felt solemn and exciting at the same time.
‘It was a sombre occasion but obviously everyone was excited to see the new King, so it was a mixture of jubiliation and sadness at the same time. It was an odd mixture, but nothing really felt out of place.’
Sailors from the Royal Navy were chosen to pull the State Gun Carriage, which is part of naval history, and has been used to carry the coffin of monarchs at state funerals since Queen Victoria’s funeral in 1901.Their role is one of teamwork, coordination and practise, with just ropes and their own muscle power ensuring the coffin’s safe passage.
‘There are ropes atttached with handles for everyone to hold on to and there are four ropes at either end of the carraige and two people. Two people hold onto the ropes and then you hold the hand of the guy next to you where there is no rope, so everyone is shoulder to shoulder and then you move off.’
The team pulling the coffin were part of hundreds of sailors taking part in the procession, alongside other members of the Armed Forces.
‘I believe there were about 800-900 sailors taking part, I’m not entirely sure, but there were a lot,’ said Jack.
Of the new King Charles III, he said: ‘I only really saw him to the side, because we were facing the other way to him, but when he left in the car after the procession, our commanding officer saluted the car and he saluted back and that felt like rather a nice thank-you for what what we had done.
‘Having only joined the Navy in February, being part of such an occasion is absolutely mindblowing, to be part of history like that is fantastic. It was an incredible experience.’
