Gerry Brewer
I was eighteen when the King died on 6th February 1952 and Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth.
I remember it well because I had a date with a girl in Oxford that evening and all the cinemas were closed, so we called it off that day.
The money I was earning, if I remember rightly, was £12 per month.
The Coronation took place the next year and by that time I was in the Royal Air Force, doing National Service. I was stationed at RAF Yatesbury in Wiltshire. We had a parade in the morning with a band and we all sang ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ and then the National Anthem, after that we had the rest of the day off. I had a motor bike at the time so I went home, which was in Wantage, and I went to Ardington in the afternoon because they were having a sports day and my eldest brother was doing the PA system. I had also lived in Ardington and still sang in the Church choir.
Back to the camp in the evening. I remember the weather was not wonderful but I don’t think we had any rain.
