‘We were all proud to be part of it’: Royal Navy sailor from Blackpool shares his experience after pulling State Gun Carriage carrying Queen Elizabeth II's coffin

Finley Clarkson had just passed his phase two training when he discovered he had been selected to help pull Her Majesty’s coffin in front of thousands of spectators.

Joining the Royal Navy in February, the 21-year-old – who studied at St. George’s High School – said he was “overwhelmed” but extremely proud when he found out.

“I thought they would have chosen people who were a lot more experienced and had been there for 20 odd years,” he added.

“But for them to put all their faith in us was an honour and a really big achievement.”

After being selected, Finley had to remain tight-lipped about the special news, keeping it a secret from his family and friends until a few days before the funeral.

He said: “Everyone was in complete shock when I told them.

“I wanted to tell them every time I was on the phone but I knew I couldn’t. It was extremely hard to keep it to myself.

“When I did tell everyone they didn’t believe me at first, but they soon realised I wasn’t lying when I told them to look out for me on TV.”

Finley, who is based at HMS Collingwood, began training for the historic occasion two days after the Queen’s death alongside other Royal Navy sailors.

They trained for up to 13-hours a day for six days and had one rehearsal in London on Wednesday (September 14) prior to the funeral, leaving them with three days off to relax.

On the day of the Queen’s funeral, Finley got ready at his base at midnight before boarding a coach to London at 1am.

At 9.45am, the group marched out of Wellington Barracks to pick up the Queen’s coffin from Westminster Hall.

Finley said everyone was calm when they arrived, but “the nerves started to kick in” as they prepared to march out in front of everyone.

“I don’t think the experience has hit me yet, but when I watch it back properly I think I will finally realise what a massive occasion I was part of.

“It’s a story I’m going to be able to tell for life.”

When was the gun carriage that carried the Queen built?

The gun carriage was built in the late 1890s before the death of Queen Victoria.

It was built at the Royal Gun Factory at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich to carry the standard light field gun used by the Army at the time – the breech loaded 12-pounder.

This particular carriage, however, was converted into a ceremonial gun carriage by fitting a catafalque – a raised platform with horizontal rollers for moving the coffin.

The three-ton (3,000kg) carriage is kept under environmentally-controlled conditions at a temperature of between 16-20ºC and at humidity of between 40-70 per cent, to prevent it from becoming dry and brittle and to stop fungal growth.

It is stored at HMS Excellent on Whale Island in Portsmouth.

Click HERE to find out why sailors pulled the Queen’s gun carriage.