Dray horses to pull Speaker's coach to Coronation, London
1968 - Brewers horses take the Speaker to the Abbey for the Coronation. One of the oldest and most colourful coaches to be seen in the Coronation procession will be the Speaker's Coach, which is so heavy that it requires brewer's dray horses to pull it. Chosen for this important job are two fine 6-year old greys, Royal and Sovereign, whose normal job is pulling a brewer's dray for Whitbreads at their Chiswell Street Brewery in the City of London. Driving and accompanying the Speaker's coach on the great day will be the two men who act as driver and trouncer on the dray pulled by Royal and Sovereign on their daily round of the City public houses. They are driver Charles Strickland and trouncer Charles Gibbons. Photo shows the brewer's dray driven by Charles Strickland and with trouncer Charles Gibbons on the back, arrives at the Two Brewers, White Cross Street, drawn by Sovereign and Royal. (Credit Image: (c) Keystone Pictures USA/ZUMAPRESS.com/Mary Evans)
