LONDON.- It was one of the worst moments of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, contributing to what she called her Annus Horribilis.

The year was 1992 and the huge fire at Windsor Castle created so much damage that it took five years and £36.5 million to repair.

Less well known was that it could all have been much worse if had not been for building contractors working onsite who joined the salvage effort. Now one of them has consigned the gold medal he received in thanks from the Queen to auction at John Nicholson’s, along with a letter of thanks from Her Majesty, as well as several other pieces of related ephemera.

Peter O’Mara was a painter and decorator working for contractors Cousins Ltd on Project Kingsbury, involving renovation works at the castle that started in the late 1980s. Cousins were brought in to complete the redecoration after major rewiring at the castle and had 19 of their contractors and staff on site when the fire broke out in the Queen’s Private Chapel at 11.15am on November 20, 1992.

Heat from a spotlight pressed against a curtain had sparked the blaze which soon spread to the State Apartments and ultimately caused the collapse of much of Brunswick Tower and the roof of St George’s Hall.

All hands on deck

Mr O’Mara recalled how it was “all hands on deck” when the alarm went up. And as he set about helping move precious objects and furniture to safety, he found himself in an unusual place.

“At one time I was helping move the many precious artefacts from both sides of a long corridor. As we completed this task, I noticed a half-open door and went in looking for other items to remove. I could tell straight away the atmosphere was different here. The first thing I spied was an old-fashioned stereogram. As I looked around, I noticed two cardboard cut-outs either side of the fireplace. They were corgis and I suddenly realised where I was.

“It was fairly busy in there with staff coming and going, none of whom I recognised. A clutch of people was deep in conversation off to one side. They looked like the staff top brass. No one noticed me so I took one last look around and made my exit. I felt rather lucky as in no other circumstances would I ever have got to see the Queen’s apartment. Tucked away in a quiet corner surrounded by such grandeur and opulence, the Queen and Prince Philip lived in the most unostentatious flat you could imagine. It was the one thing that left a lasting impression on me.”

It took nine hours to get the fire under control, with the contractors helping firefighters and Royal Household staff to salvage everything they could. One of the most challenging pieces was a 150ft long table and a 120ft carpet that had to be removed from the Waterloo Chamber.

At the end of it all, Peter O’Mara realised that for him the drama was not over.

Security was understandably tight at Windsor and the contractors’ car park compound was two miles away, with everyone being ferried to and fro: “It was dark and late when I arrived back at the compound, and it wasn’t until I boarded the bus, I realised I was out of a job… for now.”

Two weeks later he received a call. “Bob Cousins (my boss) had received word that he had secured the contract for the fire restoration. It was a three-year contract and once again I had a job.” In the end, it took five years to complete.

Mr O’Mara declares it the best job he ever had.

“Just as the castle is a unique building, working there was unlike any other place I had worked before. Royal Household projects are extremely well organised. This made a difference at every level. Unlike most construction sites, friction between client, contractors and trades was largely absent. The respect shown by the trades who felt privileged to work there also helped. It was the smoothest operation I ever worked on.”

Impressed by the Royal Library

Of all the places he worked at the castle, he was most impressed with the Royal Library.

“It was like a mini museum, with ancient, jewel-encrusted Bibles, first editions, scrolls and gifts from all over the Commonwealth. In one corner stood a mannequin with a tunic on it. Charles I wore it on the day of his beheading. At the rear was a large room where specialists were restoring old manuscripts.

“Everything was cleared for a stock take while we painted the enormous ceiling, and a newly designed lighting system was installed. Up until that time we had not worked alongside the staff. Lucky for us they were welcoming and friendly. I was most impressed by their quiet dedication as they went about their business.”

He also worked with a team that spent weeks painting the tunnels that connected the boiler rooms and the police area.

“One of my colleagues, an intrepid explorer, took me on a tour of the older unpainted tunnels. You could still find the clay pipes that were left behind by the workers who built them.”

All communal areas were papered with the Queen’s cypher wallpaper, a small sample of which accompanies the consignment at John Nicholson’s.

“Did I meet the Queen and Prince Philip?… yes… sort of. There is nothing quite like the sense of self-consciousness one feels on these occasions, especially when they happen out of the blue. One Saturday morning, we were working in the laundry room when the Queen walked in with the major who always accompanied her when she went walkabout. After brief but polite greetings they left as quickly as they had come, leaving us to pick our jaws up off the floor.”

Another time, he was working in the undercroft – a low level area of the castle.

“The torrent of water used to put out the fire had forced its way between the stones and was now seeping through the walls. A voice behind me asked ‘How come it’s leaking out here and nowhere else?’ I paused. No one had an answer for that, and I eventually said: ‘We’re working on it.’ By that time, Prince Philip was already walking away.”

Having Windsor Castle in their portfolio burnished the reputation of Cousins Ltd – now the Cousins Group – which went on to fulfil contracts in Whitehall, including Horseguards, The Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Palace of Westminster, St James’s Palace and Hampton Court.

Thanks from his employer and the Queen

Cousins did not forget the efforts of their workforce, writing to them five years later as the renovation project came to an end to express their thanks and appreciation. The Queen and Prince Philip were also grateful, with Her Majesty also writing personally to each of the contractor staff, including Mr O’Mara.

“Being anxious to show our appreciation of the skill and dedication, which you and the others involved in the project have devoted to it, we have had this special medallion struck to mark the completion of the restoration and it comes with our grateful thanks,” Her Majesty wrote in a framed letter that also accompanies the consignment.

As well as the medallion, Mr O’Mara and his colleagues were presented with a specially designed tie marking the completion on Project Kingsbury (also consigned here), and they were invited to a reception at Windsor Castle to complete the Royal Household’s appreciation.

The invitation to Mr O’Mara, with associated paperwork, accompanies the consignment.

The gold medallion itself has the Queen’s crowned cypher to one side, along with the year 1997 (the date of the project’s completion) in Roman numerals. The other side shows Windsor Castle itself surrounded by the legend: ‘To Commemorate The Restoration of Windsor Castle, Completed 20 November 1997’ (five years to the day since the fire broke out).

The medal and its associated material will be sold as a single lot at the Fernhurst salerooms on 12 June with an estimate of £500-600.

Live online bidding is available via www.johnnicholsons.com