Remembering the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth and My Friend Joyce

On June 2, 1953, when I was 7 years old, Princess Elizabeth became Queen of England. She was married to Prince Philip and was only 25 years old. Her father, King George VI died the previous year on February 6, 1952. So this year, 2012 is being celebrated throughout the world as the Diamond Jubilee.

The Official Website of the British Monarchy

http://www.royal.gov.uk/hmthequeen/accessioncoronation/accessionandcoronation.aspx

I was in first grade, and although I don’t remember many events or much anything else at that time, I do recall this event. It was at the end of the school year, one of the last days. Near the end of the school day, my teacher gathered a number of us students together and we walked a few blocks to someone’s house where we watched the coronation on television. The TV was not a big screen affair like media screens today. It may have been as large as 10 or 12 inches in size. Images were in black and white. Color TV had not been invented. In fact, at that time not every family had a television set. We watched horse drawn carriages, heard a lot of talking, and saw a lot of curtseying, and that sort of thing. There was a good bit of “shushing” by adults and I guess some disorder among the first graders gathered in that living room. Most everyone was focused on what was happening on that small screen. It was quite evident that something very important was going on.

It was in fact a very big deal. To me, and I suppose to the other children it was happening “real time” as they say today. And in a sense it was, but not without tremendous effort by the British. After the death of King George, they had spent a year preparing for this coronation. In England there was a lot of debate about televising such a sacred event.


The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) took the entire year to organize its television coverage of the event. It included multiple cameras in Westminster Abbey and cameras at over twenty sites along the Queen’s procession route. The live footage, from inside the Abbey was complemented by commentators stationed outside the Abbey, who described the event. The event was viewed live in Britain, France, Holland and West Germany.


The ceremony was watched by millions of people in Canada and the United States courtesy of the BBC who recorded the event and with the aid of the Royal Air Force (RAF) flew the recordings to Canada in three stages throughout the day in an arrangement called “Operation Pony Express.” The film was flown across the Atlantic in three Canberra jet bombers, and broadcast by television stations in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. NBC and ABC linked to the Canadian stations to provide coverage in the US, while CBS broadcast it’s own recording of the event flown by RAF jets to Boston. Each jet took a little over five hours. TV coverage in the United States began at 4:15 pm.


I suppose I remember the occasion, because so many grown-ups were making a point to watch the event. They were aware of the investment of time and resources to make this possible. It was in ways unprecedented. So, adults were watching the event intently, and the fact they had gathered us together to also witness the event suggested to us that it was a very important event.


Reflecting back on that day, I can also say that my view of England as an important county had been firmly established. In War World II, England was an important ally and everyone spoke favorably of England. The reality of it all is that she is Queen of the United Kingdom, which includes the country of England, as well as the countries of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others.


Our neighbors to the rear of us, the Fukos were somehow related to the English. My friend Joyce’s grandmother lived in England and while we were neighbors had visited here once or twice. I spend an hour or so in her presence and of course she insisted on drinking hot tea. As I recall, they used a big, shiny chrome coffee pot to make her tea. She liked cookies too. Joyce, my brother and I spent a lot of time in a sandbox partially under the cantilevered kitchen of our house. Maybe this association had something to do with my recollection of the Queen’s coronation.

So, here we are, nearly 60 years later, celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Yes, sixty years and a lot of history later. She had a son, Charles born prior to her becoming queen in November 1948, who throughout my life I assumed would become King of England someday. She also had other children: Anne, Edward and Andrew. Prince Charles married Princess Diana on July 29, 1981. Princess Diana had two children, William in June 1982 and Harry in September 1984, who are now adults. She and Charles divorced in 1996, and on August 31, 1997 she died in Paris, France as a result of a car crash. There was also the Suez Crisis in mid-1950s, the Falklands War in April 1982 and numerous military actions in what was Yugoslavia (Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo). The Brits have also been our allies in Kuwait and Iraq. And Queen Elizabeth remains, much older, but in some sense unchanged, steady and dependable. She is now in her eighties.


In the intervening years, my family moved away from the neighborhood where Joyce lived. She too moved. I last saw her when she turned 12 or 13 and somehow found myself at a birthday party for her held in a large neighborhood community center. We danced “The Stroll,” a sort of line dance affair. That was the last I saw of her.


And so, here we are 60 years later. It is hard to believe all the history that has passed since I was 7 years old and that I remember that event, not like it was yesterday, but more like a recollection that has become foggy and somewhat vague because of time. I suppose that is the most troubling part of the story.


I am trying to remember more of the details of the events surrounding the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. Why do some things fade and yet some things are retained? Why did this event make such an impression on me? Is it because some events are built up by others and we “experience” the moment? Were the multiple sensory inputs (auditory, visual, and other senses, including experiential) important to the creation of this memory? What roles do preparation, expectation, photographs taken during the event, travel logs, collected mementos, associated music, retellings and revisits to memorable sites play? Can we facilitate our memories and the memories of our children to recall the important events and lessons in life? I think the sages of “old” believe so.


Scripture:

Exodus 20.8 – Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy.

Exodus 40.9 – Take anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it.

Deuteronomy 4.12 - Tell them how the Lord spoke to you from the fire, how you heard him speaking but did not see him in any form at all. Remember today and never forget: the Lord is God in heaven and on earth. There is no other god.

Joshua 1.8 – Meditate on the law day and night.

Joshua 4.6-7 – Stack these stones as a reminder to the people of what happened here.

2 Chronicles 7.16 – I have consecrated this temple so my name may be associated with it (make special, set aside).

Psalm 39.3 – My heart grew hot as I meditated.

Psalm 77.11 – I will remember the deeds of God.

Psalm 79.13 – God’s people will praise Him and from generation to generation they will recount it.

Psalm 119.27 – I will meditate on your wonders.

Isaiah 46.8 – Remember this; fix it in your mind. I make know what is still to come.

Luke 22.19 – Do this in remembrance of me.

John 13.15 – Jesus told his disciples, “I have set an example for you.”

Philippians 4.9 – Whatever you have learned from me put it into practice.