In pictures: Sir Winston Churchill's funeral 50 years on

Events have been held to mark the 50th anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill's funeral.

The wartime prime minister died on 24 January 1965 aged 90. He was buried six days later after a full state funeral - the only commoner of the 20th century to be accorded such an honour.

Here are some images, both from Friday's events and those five decades ago.

Wreaths were laid on Sir Winston Churchill's memorial stone at Westminster Abbey during a service to commemorate his life.

Churchill's great-great-grandchildren Iona Pite, John Winston Churchill and Christabel Fraser were helped to lay their tribute in the abbey.

Celia Sandys, Churchill's granddaughter, was among other members of the family to attend the evening service.

The Havengore, the boat which carried Churchill's coffin along the Thames during his funeral, made the same journey again earlier on Friday.

Churchill's family made the journey from the Tower of London to Westminster on the vessel as part of the commemorations.

Churchill's coffin, draped in a union jack, is pictured here on the Havengore at Tower Pier 50 years ago.

Thousands of people lined London's streets in 1965. The ceremony was watched by millions more worldwide.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband laid wreaths in Churchill's memory in Westminster Hall. Sir Nicholas Soames, Churchill's grandson, is pictured on the far left.

Mr David Cameron said Britain must draw on the same "courage and resolve" shown by Churchill to fight the affronts to freedom faced in today's society.

Randolph Churchill, the great-grandson of Churchill, and Ms Sandys also laid a wreath under the statue of their relative in Parliament Square.

Former BBC journalist Martin Bell, who covered the funeral in 1965, described the event, which centred on St Paul's Cathedral, as "unprecedented".