A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece entitled ‘AIDE MEMOIRE’ about personal memories. This week I’m looking back at those events and occasions that have, over the course of our lives, been shared by thousands, if not millions of us. Many will have been stored in our memories, even if we rarely think about them. We might call them ‘dual’ memories: the events themselves and how we remember them on a personal level.
To give a few examples: VE Day, The Moon Landing, The Assassination of Kennedy, The Murder of John Lennon, The Death of Princess Diana, The Fall of the Berlin Wall, 9/11 and so on. All these will, to a greater or lesser extent, have had an impact on our consciousness.
Of course, few of us will want to dwell on tragedy or horror, but when it comes to positive happenings, what better way to relive the pleasure we felt than by tapping into the ‘Universal Memory’ to take us back in time.
Many of those who are suffering from dementia, will have stored memories spanning several decades, as far back as the Second World War or further. I was born during that war but my consciousness did not awaken until the early post-war days. Days of ration books, bomb sites, ex-soldiers with missing limbs and eyes, pre-fabs and booming babies! It was a time of rejoicing, re-building and, of course, mourning for those who had lost their lives in the war. The Festival of Britain, exhibition and fair in 1951, gave the exhausted British population a much-needed and fun diversion. The event was inaugurated by King George VI.
The Royal Family had taken an active role in war work, even if only to keep morale high and they were well loved by a largely Royalist population. When the king died in his sleep on 6 February 1952, aged only 57, a shock wave swept over the United Kingdom, reaching beyond to the Commonwealth and other countries where kings and queens were popular. (Interestingly, the French have been fond of the British royal family for a long time, even if they might not admit it!)
Winston Churchill, although no longer Prime Minister, made the announcement of the king’s death over the wireless. Princess Elizabeth was declared queen and flew home from a Commonwealth tour in Africa to attend her official accession. For the next fifteen months, preparations for the Coronation, overseen by the Duke of Norfolk, occupied thousands of workers and the minds of much of the population. The ceremony was to be televised to the nation.
So, for those who remember the occasion well and will enjoy recalling their own version of the day, I would like to take you back with me to 2 June 1953.
Mother was a royalist, she was so keen, you’d have thought she felt she had royal blood somewhere down the line. As a child of nine, I had yet to form my own opinions and was as excited as she was. The wireless reported regularly on progress and everyone speculated about by the stupendous event that was to come.
London, particularly around the route the Gold Coronation Coach would take from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey and back, was decorated with thousands of lights, arches and crowns. The Abbey itself had been the setting of coronations conducted by Archbishops of Canterbury since 1066. Between now and then there have been 41 kings and queens of England.
The Sovereign’s procession was to comprise 250 people, including Church leaders, Commonwealth Prime Ministers, members of the Royal Household, civil and military leaders and, of course, the Yeoman of the Guard.
In the press, speculation about the dresses Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother would wear was a big pre-occupation. We knew the Queen-to-be’s dress had been designed by Norman Hartnell, top designer of the day, and that it would be white. Ceremonial guards and regiments practiced the march down The Mall. 129 dignitaries from all over the world were invited and arrangements had to be made to accommodate them. Amongst them was Salote, the magnificent Queen of Tonga, and the only woman! In total over eight thousand guests were to attend the ceremony in Westminster Abbey. Armies of cooks were planning menus for the banquets. Wines from the best vineyards were ordered while the population made plans for street parties, tea parties and other celebrations. Coronation Chicken was invented especially for the occasion by top florist Constance Spry. Everyone was busy.
We were to watch the Coronation on a television – a huge excitement in itself. Friends of my parents had one and we were invited. There was to be a buffet party afterwards.
The great day came and Mother and I were so excited, we couldn’t sleep, let alone eat a decent breakfast. Daddy was cool and calm as ever but I knew he’d bought new flannels and a navy blazer with gold buttons to wear on the day. Oh, and I mustn’t forget, a new pair of shoes from the factory where he ordered them by serial number. Mother had a Horrocks dress (see above pic) with a bolero and I had a smaller version along with white gloves and socks, new Clarke’s sandals and a red-white-and-blue hair ribbon. We looked the business as we set off all smiles in a gleaming Patience, a Vauxhall Big 6 limousine, Daddy’s pride and joy.
All the guests were dressed up and buzzing with excitement when, around 11 o’clock, it was time to settle down in front of the tiny screen. We sat in awe and silence, except for exclamations of amazement at the pomp and pageantry. It would have been wonderful to have seen it in colour on a big screen, but …
The televised ceremony was immortalised by Richard Dimbleby, official and well-known commentator of memorable occasions.
For around three hours we sat spellbound listening to Mr. Dimbleby’s solemn narration as the ceremony proceeded through six stages: The Recognition, The Oath, The Anointing, The Investiture, The Enthronement and The Homage. The Anointing oil was a mix of orange, roses, cinnamon, musk and ambergris – the new queen was to be bathed in perfume. Her throne, St. Edward’s Chair, made for Edward 1 in 1300. The crown weighed 4 pounds 12 ounces and had to be adjusted to fit the Queen’s head. The orb, also solid gold and encrusted with jewels was made in 1661. The ring, gold with rubies and sapphires known as The Wedding Ring of England was placed on the fourth finger of her right hand.
After the ceremony, the new young Queen wore the considerably lighter Imperial State Crown for the ride back to Buckingham Palace – and what relief that must have been! 2,000 journalists and 500 photographers from around the world recorded the procession. The return route to Buckingham Palace covered almost four and a half miles and took the 16,000 participants two hours to complete. In all almost 30,000 men either took part in the procession or lined the route.
Once back at the Palace, Queen Elizabeth The Second, came out onto the balcony to wave to the cheering thousands who thronged the around the Queen Victoria Memorial down and the Mall. And we stopped for a buffet tea.
Champagne was poured and I was allowed a sip or two. Cucumber and egg-and-cress sandwiches were served with sausages rolls followed by brandy snaps, butterfly cakes, flapjacks and Battenburg cake. There were jellies and blancmanges too. Cups of tea finished off the feast.
I had to take a nap, I was so tired by the exuberant energy that filled the house and garden but was allowed up again to watch when the Queen re-appeared on the balcony to turn on The Lights of London. They swept down the Mall to Admiralty Arch, turned the Trafalgar Square fountains to ‘liquid silver’ and lit up floodlights from the National Gallery to The Tower of London. It was a stupendous sight even in fuzzy black and white.
27 million British people and millions more around the world had watched while Elizabeth, only 25 years-old, was crowned Queen of England.
And, as if to add icing to the cake, news reached us that Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing had conquered Everest.
For those who would like to take a look at the Coronation, there are lots of videos on Youtube – an invaluable source of memorable moments in history. It seems as though just about anything that has ever been filmed plus a whole load more, can be found amongst the billions we can access whenever we want. It’s an invaluable source of information and pleasure, particularly for those who’s long-term memories will be stimulated by seeing and hearing their favourites from times past.
The black and white images used for this post come from my personal magazine collection – thank you mother and THE LONDON ILLUSTRATED NEWS, THE SKETCH MAGAZINE and PICTURE POST (not including Patience of course!)
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