This article written by Jackie Rickenberg was published in the Parish Magazine in June 2023
I write this less than 48 hours after the brilliantly organised and wonderfully patriotic Coronation celebrations in Thursley. Congratulations to all involved. In our archives we have a most beautiful approved souvenir programme from the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, that I thought some of the contents were worth sharing. It was published on 2nd June 1953.
It begins with a poem from the Poet Laureate of the day, Mr John Masefield.
“Our Gracious Sovereign
This Lady whom we crown was born
When buds were green upon the thorn
And earliest cowslips showed;
When still unseen by mortal eye
One cuckoo tolled his “Here am I”,
And over little glints of sky,
In rain-pools whence the trickles flowed,
The small snipe clattered wing.
The swallows were upon the road,
Nought but the cherry-blossom snowed,
The promise was on all fields sowed
Of Earth’s beginning Spring.
Now that we crown Her as our Queen
May love keep all her pathways green,
May sunlight bless her days;
May the fair Spring of her beginning
Ripen to all things worth the winning,
The very surest of our praise
That mortal men attempt.
May this old land revive and be
Again a star set in the sea,
A Kingdom fit for such as She
With glories yet undreamt”.
Here is a family tree, useful to those of us that didn’t study English history (ask me anything about William Wallace!).
By Arthur Bryant:
“Our Queen who is crowned today is descended from Alfred – the lonely King who saved England by his courage and Christendom by his example, and, single-handed, recreated civilisation in a ruined land. She is the descendent of the great Norman who, though he conquered England, made her the first national kingdom of Europe. Of Edward I, father of our Parliament; of the first and wisest of the Tudors and she is the great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria.
As on this historic day she rides, radiant and crowned, in her golden coach through the ranks of her cheering peoples, she expresses the dedication of a vast part of the human family to the task of making earth a juster, kindlier and more gently place.”
Souvenir coronation flag issued to celebrate the coronation of Elizabeth II. The portrait of the new Queen is surrounded by four flags, including that of Australia (the Red Ensign), superimposed on a Union Jack
And finally, towards the end of the booklet, it lists the who, when and where details of the State Procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. Amongst the many grand sounding visitors were: His Highnesses the Sultans of Lehej, Selangor, Johore, Perak, Zanzibar and Kelantan. Also invited were the Queen’s Honorary Physicians, Surgeons, Dental Surgeons and Chaplains. Recognisable names included The Rt. Hon. Winston Churchill (Prime Minister), Field Marshal The Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (aka “Monty”) and Vice-Admiral The Earl Mountbatten of Burma (our Kings favourite Uncle).
The History Society has ordered the official programme from our Kings Coronation and hopefully it will be stored safely in our archives for future generations to read and remember. If you have any records, mementoes or memorabilia from this Coronation, or in fact from anything to do with Thursley or its people, and would be happy to donate it to our archives, please contact jackierickenberg@gmail.com or alisonhanbury@live.co.uk.