‘Cornish Tony’

I am 65 years old and I have very vivid memories of the Coronation, the first is being locked in the cupboard under the stairs, in Norrey’s Road, for some misdemeanour or other. I had a torch under there and I remember finding a newspaper to read that told of the old Kings’ death and it was about the funeral. The next thing was Manor Primary School; in Miss East’s class we turned up and there on the nature table were 32 lovely half pint blue glasses with the royal crest and, I think, the crest of the North Berks education authority – beautiful things and I still have two of them.

As for the day itself we were railway- and army-families in Norrey’s Road; we had moved there two years earlier, into new builds from the huts on Sinodun Camp and one person, a neighbour, had a television. I think in most places there were one or two in each street who splashed out for a TV for the Coronation. The aerial was an X and so we crowded into their front rooms next door – Mr and Mrs Buckle, their three children and loads of neighbours, and we were kind of in and out all day. Most of us boys got bored and we just sort of took off; we didn’t actually celebrate, just had the day off school and it was good.

Everybody was involved in a way and we all had our Union Jacks. I didn’t think any more about except for the fact that I kept – well my parents kept – those glasses, my brothers’ and mine.

I took one over to Manor Primary School recently and they didn’t know anything about them and so they’ve kept one for their archive – my younger brothers’ who predeceased me – and I’ve kept one as a reminder of turning up in Miss East’s class in a wooden building in the playground and receiving this wonderful memento.

Muriel

I would have been five at the time and I have no memory of the Coronation whatsoever except for the fact that when Tony showed me his glass I remember my mother having one so I must have received it – but it was just in a cupboard at home…until it got smashed!