Memories of this year’s Royal Coronation and the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 have been swapped by the congregation of a town church with a group of Burnham-On-Sea school pupils.
Burnham’s Our Lady and the English Martyrs’ Church saw their weekly gathering for tea and cake take a trip back to 1953 for a very special afternoon.
The recent happenings at King Charles III’s Coronation brought back a sense of ‘deja vu’ for many of the senior members of the church’s monthly Tea and Cake group.
Accompanied by a handful of young students from St. Josephs RC Primary School, the group had the opportunity to compare their coronation experiences, exactly 70 years apart.
Members of St Josephs’ recounted on both fond memories of ‘icing rich tea biscuits in the signature red white and blue’ and creating a time capsule of ‘life in 2023’ for the generations to come.
While these activities created an exciting atmosphere, many of the students expressed their interest towards key differences between the coronation of 1953 and 2023.
One young girl notably mentioned her favourite part of King Charles’ ceremony was the music of the Ascension Choir, while another conveyed her pride in seeing Penny Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Privy Council, yielding the Jewelled Sword of Offering, and being the first woman to do so at a Coronation ceremony.
“I love female empowerment” said one of the inspired young students, to which in response many of the church members beamed.
On the other end of coronation memories, many experiencers of the 1953 coronation for Queen Elizabeth II emphasised the drastic differences between then and now.
“I was 11 at the time of the Queen’s coronation, living in a small hamlet in Brendon Hills, Somerset”, said Colin, 81. “On the day, my older sister and I walked two miles to the village hall, all to watch the coronation on a 12-inch black and white television. I sat amazed at the pictures and sound. In the end, we came out with a Coronation mug and one or two cakes in our pockets.”
Others recounted their contentment in still having the Coronation souvenirs that were given to them in 1953. Many described a ‘white cream pencil case’ with an image of the young queen Elizabeth in the centre, while others noted memories of a ‘blue bound book, encrusted with a cold crown in the centre’, making sweet comparisons between this and the memorabilia handed out during the coronation of King Charles III.
“Without a King, I believe the country wouldn’t be the same” stated one of the young girls.
Story compiled by Mollie, 17, as part of her work experience placement
