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Joe
Cooper
was a nine-year-old pupil at Westminster Abbey's choir school -
and one of the youngest to sing at the Coronation service.
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| Joe
Cooper was one of the youngest choirboys in Westminster Abbey |
He
says: "I can recall being woken up very early, about 2am, by our
matron to be told that Everest had been climbed.
"We
had to be in the Abbey by eight in the morning - the service started
at 11 and finished at two and we didn't get out until three which
was a very long time for a nine-year-old.
"We
were given packets of boiled sweets and sandwiches to stave off
hunger and I remember swopping my boiled sweets for a Chapel Royal
choirboy's sandwiches.
"My
mother told me I was the youngster person in Westminster Abbey that
day apart from Prince Charles - and apparently he had to be taken
out half-way through."
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| Peggy
Ryland recalls high excitement at her primary school |
Peggy
Ryland was a little girl at Plump Hill School and remembers
all the preparations weeks before the Coronation as well as the
big day itself.
"The
mums were making skirts in red and white and we wore white shirts
and parents made sweets for us to eat. When the day came round the
school was decorated with bunting.
"We
watched television in the cook's house. We all sat spellbound -
the Queen looked beautiful, so young."
Les
Pugh, from Stonehouse, remembers: "As a family we all went to
a neighbours to watch the ceremony. They were one of the very few
families to own a television set and it had a nine-inch screen.
"At
9 o'clock we joined a torchlight procession to the top of the hill
where a large bonfire was lit and walked back home after an extremely
enjoyable day."
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| Joan
Smallwood watched the Coronation on a generator-powered new
television set |
Joan
Smallwood, from May Hill, watched the Coronation with her family
on their new 50-volt TV set they had obtained specially for the
occasion.
"We
obtained a Lister generator complete with 18 glass batteries which
we installed in our garage.
"On
a few occasions a trip was needed to boost up the engine when the
power ran low and we noticed the guardsmen's legs began to bend
on the television screen!"
Derek
Walters was in the Army and stood with many of his colleagues
to guard the Coronation parade route.
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| Squaddie
Derek Walters was on the parade route - but had to face the
crowd |
He
spent the night before ensuring his uniform was pristine and his
boots shone - but despite his front row position was not to see
much of the parade itself.
"Unfortunately
those squaddies like me who were on the parade didn't see much of
it because we had to face the crowd.
"You
had to stand rigidly to attention for three hours. It was quite
a muggy day and quite a lot of them passed out."
Do
you have a memory of royal events in the county that you would like
to share on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Gloucestershire? Get in touch - we'd love to publish
your royal pictures too. Email us at gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk
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