It was raining heavily this morning, and I did not go for my usual walk. So, instead of a blog post about Moreton Bay or about my fellow walkers, I thought this would be a good opportunity to write about something else entirely, in fact, about the day my wife, Sue, and I met the Australian designer and builder of two of Britain’s Royal Coaches, Mr W.J.Frecklington. Perhaps you have heard of him?
Mr Frecklington’s name may be familiar to many readers who watched the Royal Procession on TV in May last year and who would have seen the magnificent coach, which was drawn by six horses, all the way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, for the coronation of King Charles III. As we watched the procession Sue and I both recalled an afternoon back in 2008 when we were privileged to meet Mr Frecklington, who built this coach, the “Diamond Jubilee State Coach”.
The opportunity to visit Mr Frecklington’s workshop, and to meet him and view this coach, came through an invitation from some close Sydney friends, Heather and John, who had themselves known about it through John’s membership of an automobile club. The workshop was located in the old School of Artillery transport compound in Manly, a seaside suburb of Sydney. We found him to be a very kind man, who was generous with his time as he explained the incredible detail involved in the designing and building of a magnificent example of Australian craftsmanship.
To give you some background, William James Frecklington was born in Parkes in New South Wales. In his younger years he had moved to England where he worked at Windsor Castle as a member of the Royal Household and then later moved to the Royal Mews in London where he looked after the Queen’s horses and carriages. One of his early notable achievements was that he also built Queen Elizabeth’s Australian State Coach, which was presented to her in 1988 for the Australian Bicentennial, as an official gift from the Australian people.
The coach which we saw in Manly was yet to be named. Mr Frecklington explained to us the great care he had taken to collect as many significant historical timber items as possible. These were used to decorate the inside walls and panels with small, varnished squares, helping to create a time capsule of British history. He mentioned that he had collected fragments of materials from Royal residences, such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, and from Cathedrals, such as St Paul’s and Westminster Abbey, and from other historical sources, such as for example, fragments from Shackleton’s Antarctic base. Being an old seafarer myself I was blown away by the mention of timber from historical ships such as the Mary Rose, Nelson’s “Victory” and the Royal Yacht Britannia.
I don’t know whether, at the time when we saw it back in 2008, Mr Frecklington would have felt confident that his coach would one day be used for a coronation. Perhaps he did but I’m reasonably certain that Sue and I did not entertain any such thoughts. We were impressed by all that he explained to us, and we posed for a photo with him to record our visit, but we never imagined that we would ever be looking at it again. Jim Frecklington completed this coach in 2010 and although he did receive a grant to help with the expense of building it, he had to mortgage his house to finance this project. It was a labour of love!
The Diamond Jubilee State Coach is also known as the State Coach Britannia. It offered King Charles and Queen Camilla a comfortable ride as it had hydraulic suspension, heating, airconditioning and electric windows. As I mentioned earlier, it was not the first Royal coach designed and built by Mr Frecklington. The first, the Australian State Coach which was presented to Queen Elizabeth in Canberra in 1988, has been used on many occasions by the Royal Family. For example, it took part in the procession following the coronation of King Charles, carrying Prince William and Princess Catherine and their children. The original old Gold State Coach, which was built in 1762, was considered to be very uncomfortable and was not enjoyed by the Royals. I read that Queen Victoria even refused to ride in it.
On a more personal level, Mr Frecklington MVO, OAM, was, in his early years, a member of the Queen’s household. He was coachman, manager of royal coaches and a close friend of the late Queen. In 2014 he was awarded an MVO (Member of the Royal Victorian Order), after having been invited to Windsor Castle for a private meeting with the Queen and Prince Philip. The medal is one awarded as a personal gift from the Queen.
A Sun-Herald writer reported in April last year that Jim Frecklington’s former wife had said: “He hasn’t really been recognised for what he has done. In years to come people will realise he was one of the greatest craftsmen to come out of Australia”.
Sue and I feel very fortunate that we were able to meet him, and to join in acknowledging him to be an Australian master craftsman, whose work will continue to be visible to the world, for many years to come.
O.P.
P.S. Next Sunday’s post will be about something entirely different again. An interesting story about a sea voyage with 1200 pilgrims from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia.