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Monday 5 December 2011

The Queen's Coronation: Personal Genealogy & History: Wk 49

Week 49 in Amy Coffin’s and Geneablogger’s 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History series. – . Describe a memorable national historical event from your childhood. How old were you and how did you process this event? How did it affect your family?

2nd June 1953 - The Queen's Coronation.  I was nine years old  and had been busy making  red, white and blue decorations at school,  creating  a coronation scrapbook, collecting my coronation mug (presented to all children) and playing with the doll my mother made for me, dressed as the Queen with a long velvet purple train, embroidered
in gold.


On the day itself we woke up to the news on the radio that Everest had been conquered and watched the coronation procession and ceremony on our new 10-inch screen black and white television - one of the first in the  street, with a full household of my aunt and uncle and neighbours crowding round the small screen.  I wore  my yellow taffeta party dress in honour of the occasion.

A few weeks later we all trooped in a long crocodile from school to a local cinema to see a film of the conquering of Everest (some of the scenes of men crossing deep ravines frightened me), followed by a film  of the coronation, this time  in glorious technicolour.

But there was a personal dimension to Coronation Day, as my mother was in hospital for three weeks around that time following a major operation. For my younger brother and myself it was a strange uncertain time, especially as children were not allowed to visit the hospital.  Dad talked about the red  white and blue decorations that the nurses put up on the wards and Mum won a sweep stake on the Grand National, in picking successful  jockey Gordon Richards.

The day Mum  came home was emotional as we all burst into tears - and I wore again my party dress to welcome her back to the family

Copyright © 2011 · Susan Donaldson.  All Rights Reserved

1 comment:

  1. I love the connection between the yellow dress and the grand event of which your mother's return was the most important. I don't recall the coronation but I remember QE II's 1st visit to Oz.

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