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On the 6tb February, 1952 I was in the dentist chair, I had just had a tooth extracted and was coming round from the anaesthetic when I heard the nurse announce that King George VI had died, recalled Angela Woodward. The news was not unexpected as the king had been ill for several months. His daughter Princess Elizabeth, the heir to the throne, was in Kenya on an official visit at the time, she left the country as a princess but returned as our queen.
The date set for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth 11 was 6th June 1953, a cause of great excitement and anticipation. It was decided where I lived, that we should have a street party to celebrate the occasion. My mother and father were elected on to the organising committee and the plans began to take shape.
Winter evenings were spent sitting around the fire making decorations, which would festoon the road when the great day finally arrived. At bedtime each night we would be surrounded by mountains of red, white and blue crepe paper, and storage of these items soon began to become a problem.
The children were all to be in fancy dress, which in itself caused consternation for my sister and myself, deciding exactly what we should be, taking into consideration our limited resources. Janice chose to be a cover girl, her outfit was made from the covers of Woman magazine, pleated and sewn together, I was a coronation girl and my costume was to be all red, white and blue.
We had two cousins, Roger and David, whose road was not having a party and so they would be joining us. Roger decided to be Robert Harbin who was one of the first chefs to appear on television, and David chose to be a pirate.
As the day drew nearer it was decided that our house would be one of the preparation stations as we lived roughly in the middle of the street. We also had a little black and white television, quite a rarity in those days, so that when the caterers were preparing the piles of sandwiches for the afternoon and evening celebrations they could also be watching the pageantry of the Coronation which was due to start early morning.
On the 4th June work began on decorating the street, most of our neighbours participated in this and there was a great feeling of community spirit and camaraderie. A stage was constructed at the centre point of the road, to be the focal point for the festivities.
The great day finally dawned, it was dull and damp, and as the morning wore on it started raining steadily, looking set for the day. The catering committee arrived at our house and soon got themselves organised around the table, in full view of the television.
The coverage started quite early, with commentator Richard Dimbleby setting the scene for the pageantry to come. We watched as Kings and Queens from all over the world rode in their carriages to Westminster Abbey, where the coronation was to take place. Most memorable was Queen Salote of Tonga who defied the rain and rode in an open carriage, smiling and waving to all the crowds lining the route.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Doctor Fisher, was to perform the crowning ceremony. It was a most memorable occasion, for the abbey was filled with the heads of state from all over the world, alongside dukes, duchesses, lords and ladies dressed in their ermine robes.
A young Prince Charles looked down on his mother from a balcony above, watching as she was crowned Queen Elizabeth 11.
Once the royal party had returned to Buckingham Palace and waved to the thousands of people gathered outside the gates, our television was turned off and our own festivities began.
There were various races for the children according to the different age groups. The fancy dress competition was judged and prizes presented, unfortunately none of our family were winners. Whilst these activities were taking place, the adults were laying up the tables for tea. All the children were given coronation hats to wear: caps for the boys and berets for the girls.
Everyone was given a commemorative mug and souvenir coin. It was such a shame that it was still raining, but fortunately a tarpaulin had been hastily erected in an attempt to keep us all dry. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all.
As the evening progressed, an entertainer had been hired and after he had finished, the residents had a talent show. Needless to say I did not participate in this but enjoyed the efforts of the others. The day was rounded off by a dance in the street, which for me as a ten year old was very exciting. It was the end of an extremely memorable day.
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