Northern Beaches resident and Royal Coachbuilder Jim Frecklington has passed away, only days before the finishing touches were to be added to his final masterpiece.
76-year-old William James ‘Jim’ Frecklington MVO OAM (main image left, in July 2025 with British High Commissioner to Australia Dame Sarah MacIntosh DCMG) passed away in Sydney as the result of an illness on Friday, 11 September 2026. Known to all as Jim, he was born in Parkes NSW on 29 April 1950, growing up on a rural property where his parents ran sheep and cattle.
He was known in later life for his exquisite coachbuilding skills, which included the Australian State Coach presented to the late Queen Elizabeth II at the Australian Bicentennial in 1988, and the Diamond Jubilee State Coach which was delivered to the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace in March 2014.
Mr Frecklington had a personal connection to the Royal Mews, which is the repository for all ground transport for the British Royal Family. He worked there for several years in the 1970s managing horses and driving carriages on ceremonial occasions.
Having designed, built and delivered two coaches for the sovereign, Mr Frecklington assembled a team of men and women, possibly the last remaining exponents of their crafts. Together they embarked on his ‘pinnacle project’, to produce his third and last royal carriage, the Commonwealth Royal Coach (image above).
The following is a description of the project in the words of his colleagues, who confirmed the finishing touches are now being completed to the Coach in a workshop at an undisclosed Northern Beaches location.
To build a Royal Coach, Jim instinctively recognised the necessity to assemble a team of especially gifted artisans and master craftsmen, possibly the last remaining exponents of their crafts.
Combining his own unique talents, patience and meticulous attention to detail — and driven by his passion to showcase Australian materials and the skills of this unique team — Jim launched his third, and ultimately final coach-building project, the Commonwealth Royal Coach.
The body of the Coach is essentially built in aluminium which, unlike timber, is relatively impervious to extreme variations in temperature and humidity. Traditionally, lead paint and varnish were used on earlier timber coaches but advances in modern materials demanded the latest paint solutions.
The painstaking workmanship and brilliant skills of perfectionists including Owen Webb, a leading expert in specialty paints, and highly accomplished artist Paula Church who has exquisitely executed the Royal Coat of Arms and other Royal insignia on both doors and front and back of the Coach, have created a stunning exterior of enduring beauty.
Around the perimeter of the Coach’s roof is an impressive frieze of gilded bronze floral emblems representing Commonwealth member nations. Atop this gallery (roof decoration), sits a gilded Crown carved from timber approximately 1,000 years’ old, originating from the roof of Westminster Abbey (image below).
Tailor-made framed miniature portraits of all 42 Kings and Queens since William the Conqueror in 1066 to the present day monarch, HRH King Charles III provide an outstanding feature of the interior Commonwealth Royal Coach (image below).
Hand-painted by internationally acclaimed vitreous enamel artist Gillie Hoyte Byrom, each painting is a multi-layered sequence of onglaze pigment applied to a handmade copper enamel base and cured in a warm kiln.
Permission for reproduction was given by The Royal Collection and the National Portrait Gallery who house the original paintings in London.
The Coach interior also features a capsule containing the Westminster Watch, a soldier-issued timepiece worn by Captain Edward Elliott who was killed following a Nazi Luftwaffe bomb attack on the Houses of Parliament in May 1941, and two ‘Dead Man’s Pennies’, commemorative coins honouring the soldiers, doctors and nurses who made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for Britain in World War I.
The four external Coach Lamps (image above), set within superbly crafted metal frames, are made of the finest lead crystal glass panels, hand-blown and cut by Waterford Crystal.
In each lamp this crystal glass panel is etched with the Royal Coat of Arms and one of the four specially selected heraldic symbols — the English Rose, the Scottish Thistle, the Irish Flax and the Welsh Leek.
The Coach has thick all-rubber tyres on its vast wheels (image above) and hydraulic stabilisers to stop the body rocking. Red wheel hubs embossed with a gold crown logo do not rotate with the wheels, emulating a feature of modern luxury motor vehicles.
The comfort and safety of passengers in the Commonwealth Royal Coach is a paramount consideration.
Built to serve the Royal Household for generations to come, the Commonwealth Royal Coach is a work of art intended to remain in use for hundreds of years, enhancing major occasions such as Coronations, the State Opening of Parliament, and official visits by international Heads of State.
Upon its imminent completion, the Commonwealth Royal Coach will fulfil Jim’s dream of creating a tangible record and acknowledgement of the exceptional talent and skills involved in carriage and coach building.
A unique legacy honouring a truly remarkable man.
The Northern Beaches Advocate was given access to the workshop containing the Commonwealth Royal Coach in July 2025 with Manly MP James Griffin, who said he was extremely saddened to learn of Mr Frecklington’s passing.
After discussion about the project with Mr Frecklington, we took the decision not to publish an article while it remained under construction due to the priceless and irreplaceable nature of the work.
Upon Mr Frecklington’s passing however, now is an appropriate time to recognise his achievements, including the completion of his final work.
Vale William James ‘Jim’ Frecklington MVO OAM.
Images: Northern Beaches Advocate
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