Ooooh, I like a good funeral.

Acrylic-bob · 27-12-2011, 08:34

I was discussing funerals with a colleague the other day when the subject of The Iron Lady came up. It has been reported in the press that when Lady Thatcher dies she will be accorded the honour of a State Funeral which will be conducted at St Paul's Cathedral.

Unusually, when it comes to discussions of Lady Thatcher, we were at variance over the proposals for the funeral.

What do members think; is it an honour too far or the appropriate acknowlegement of service to the nation?

cashman · 27-12-2011, 08:38

Honour to far, she deserves burning in public.

Acrylic-bob · 27-12-2011, 08:44

mobertol · 27-12-2011, 09:04

Did Winston Churchill or any other "great" PM ever get one?

flashy · 27-12-2011, 09:15

Why should she get one? She was nothing special, silly cow

jaysay · 27-12-2011, 09:49

But for Thatcher, Britain would have had the economy of a banana republic years before Tony and Gordon achieved it

Margaret Pilkington · 27-12-2011, 10:05

Winston Churchill had a state funeral in 1965.
Other notable people who were afforded a state funeral were: Viscount Nelson,The Duke of Wellington, William Gladstone, Earl Haigh.
Benjamin Disraeli was offered a state funeral, but declined it in his will. Florence Nightingals was also offered a state funeral but declined this honour.
So the answer to your question Dianne, is yes...... there have been a few great statesmen who have had state funerals

Acrylic-bob · 27-12-2011, 11:30

On the whole I do like a good funeral and state occaisions are pretty special. I am just old enough to have reliable memories of Sir Winston Churchill's funeral and pretty spectacular it was too. I think watching it in black and white added something to the occaision.

So Lady Thatcher guided the country for a while, through troubled times, using wit intelligence and energy. For which she was amply rewarded in pecuniary terms and also by being elevated to the nobility. Fair enough.

But my mind is continually drawn to those men and women who also serve their country in its hour of need. Who face danger to life and limb on a daily basis. Who forego the joys of family life for extended periods so that we may enjoy our own in freedom and peace. Who, whenever they are required to do so, are willing to give up their own lives and futures without hesitation or complaint. There are also those who survive, but with appalling injuries to mind and body.

My question is this: where is the offer of an equal schedule of honours for them? Where is the sad, solemn procession to St Pauls Cathedral for those who die in war? Why does our nation's capital not come to a halt to mark the passage of those who gave not only their time, their wit and intellience, but also their very lives?

If every life is unique and every life uniquely valuable, why must the many make do with so little simply because they are the many?

It all seems a tad unfair somehow.

Perhaps if all those who died in war were accorded the honour of a state funeral then the true cost of war would be brought home more forcibly to those so eager to indulge in it.

MargaretR · 27-12-2011, 11:35

It looks like preparations are underway.
They are even rewriting history to say that the Belgrano was sailing the other way.

susie123 · 27-12-2011, 12:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob

Perhaps if all those who died in war were accorded the honour of a state funeral then the true cost of war would be brought home more forcibly to those so eager to indulge in it.

Now that's not a bad idea...

Yes, I remember Churchill's funeral... in black and white, as you say. Very moving and solemn.

Bet you didn't watch Diana's - I certainly didn't.

jaysay · 27-12-2011, 12:11

Story in the press this morning that the BBC are recording items for Tony Blair's Obituary, do they still hang um for war crimes, or are we not being told something

gynn · 27-12-2011, 12:25

There would be problems with giving Margaret Thatcher a state funeral, because there is such divided opinion about her "achievements" in power.

Yes she took over at a time that the country was on its knees financially, but were her solutions socially fair? I'm sure that there are plenty of ex miners and public sector workers who feel they were made to bear a disproportionate burden of the measures that brought about the economic improvements in the early 1990s. The Loadsamoney culture of the 1980s benefitted only a few, and the disastrous privatisation of the railways and bus services are hardly achievements she can be proud of. And the poll tax was one of the most divisive pieces of legislation in history. Just ask the Scots!

By all means mark her passing with the respect it deserves, but keep state funerals for leaders who worked in the interests of EVERYONE.

Boeing Guy · 27-12-2011, 12:36

Does it really matter which way the Belgrano was sailing? We were at war.
It was or could be a threat, to our ships and lads. Why don't we ask those fortunate enough to have survived the HMS Sheffield attack? Or maybe Simon Weston?

Margaret Pilkington · 27-12-2011, 12:38

[quote=gynn;958457
By all means mark her passing with the respect it deserves, but keep state funerals for leaders who worked in the interests of EVERYONE.[/quote]

Pray tell, who would you have make the judgement of who receives a state funeral and who doesn't?
Would these judges be likely to be 'bought'....by honours,position or money?
I am not being fly when I ask this....I am truly interested in who you think would be neutral and unbiased enough to make the decision.
(please don't tell me you would allow it to be a public vote.....this would make the honour something like an X factor final)

susie123 · 27-12-2011, 12:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by gynn

There would be problems with giving Margaret Thatcher a state funeral, because there is such divided opinion about her "achievements" in power.

Yes she took over at a time that the country was on its knees financially, but were her solutions socially fair? I'm sure that there are plenty of ex miners and public sector workers who feel they were made to bear a disproportionate burden of the measures that brought about the economic improvements in the early 1990s. The Loadsamoney culture of the 1980s benefitted only a few, and the disastrous privatisation of the railways and bus services are hardly achievements she can be proud of. And the poll tax was one of the most divisive pieces of legislation in history. Just ask the Scots!

By all means mark her passing with the respect it deserves, but keep state funerals for leaders who worked in the interests of EVERYONE.

She also introduced the right to buy council houses which has led to a severely depleted stock of social housing today.