Sir Francis Chichester’s Return Celebration at Buckler's Hard on 17th Sept 1967

This picture was commissioned by Lord Montagu. Francis Chichester was a relation of the family and his achievement of sailing round the world in Gipsy Moth was great cause for celebration. We lived near Beaulieu and Bucklers Hard where the event took place is a pleasant walk down the river towards the sea.

. . . We went to the Francis Chichester reception at Buckler's Hard yesterday afternoon. Gipsy Moth 4 looked very calm and sedate coming up the river with Lord Montagu’s motorboat leading the rabble aft. Hooters hooting and people waving. This part of the ceremony had not been advertised as the tide had to be taken into account. So only a few hundred odd people, mostly the yachting fraternity, were there looking gay. A pony was going his rounds among them pinching buns out of their picnic baskets!

I scribbled a bit and have tried to commit things to memory …

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. . . We went to the Francis Chichester reception at Buckler's Hard yesterday afternoon. Gipsy Moth 4 looked very calm and sedate coming up the river with Lord Montagu’s motorboat leading the rabble aft. Hooters hooting and people waving. This part of the ceremony had not been advertised as the tide had to be taken into account. So only a few hundred odd people, mostly the yachting fraternity, were there looking gay. A pony was going his rounds among them pinching buns out of their picnic baskets!

I scribbled a bit and have tried to commit things to memory - we came home, fed the animals, collected Nelly and went back to hear the concert and see the fireworks. Rain was predicted, but somehow or other it kept off, what would have happened if not I can’t conceive. It was all so well thought out.

Gipsy Moth was anchored in mid-stream all alone and floodlit from the bank. A bandstand for the orchestra playing Handel’s Water Music and Royal Fireworks - the landing stage on the left where the set-pieces of fireworks and rockets went off. They were beautiful, crowds of people and children, tents with food, small boys improvising slides, everyone enjoying themselves and no rowdyisms, all well-behaved.
So now I have to set to work.

Lord Montagu had invited Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields to play on this occasion and they can be seen on a podium towards the middle right of the painting. Meanwhile the Fawley Refinery flame (one of many 'flames' in Eurich's work) can be seen burning against the dark night sky  in the background. This atmospheric work hung for a number of years at the Inn on Buckler's Hard before being cleaned and restored for this exhibition.