Coronation of Elizabeth II, 1953

The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was held at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. The service was conducted by Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher, who in 1961 retired to Trent.

Although many public schools were given exeats for the Coronation, Sherborne was not! Headmaster R.W. Powell justified his decision to parents, saying ‘Most schools, I gather, are having a break of four or five days. I remain of the opinion that the prospects of boys, in the examinations which come soon after, would be seriously affected by such a break. I also know that many parents are glad to be spared the expense of railway travel. If nothing unforeseen happens, all boys at the school would have a good view by television of the Coronation.’

This was the first British coronation to be fully televised and it was estimated to have been watched live by 18 million people across the country. Like many others the School bought (at considerable expense) a huge cabinet television set which was placed on the stage in the Big School Room so that the boys could watch the Coronation.

In Sherborne, the town was decorated by the UDC with geraniums (7 large geraniums, 130 in 3″ pots, and 100 in boxes), school children were given Coronation mugs (296 children were given Coronation mugs at the Abbey Schools and 327 at the Council School), and street parties were held around the town, including in the Digby Road, Harbour Road and McCreery Road. The UDC also arranged for a ‘Television Show for the Aged Persons’ at the Youth Club in Newland (now MacIntosh Antiques).

Edward Wiggett Thompson (second master at Sherborne Prep School 1930-1946), who was from 1946 to 1965 Headmaster of Westminster Abbey Choir School, served at the Coronation as a steward. When he died in 1969 his ashes were buried with those of his wife in the Islip chapel in Westminster Abbey.

Following her Coronation on 2 June 1953, The Queen made a broadcast in the evening in which she thanked the public for their support and promised to serve the nation, adding ‘I am sure that this, my Coronation, is not the symbol of a power and a splendour that are gone but a declaration of our hopes for the future, and for the years I may, by God’s Grace and Mercy, be given to reign and serve you as your Queen.’

After the austerity of the Second World War, the Coronation marked a new period of positivity for the country, a sentiment which was echoed in the editorial of The Shirburnian in Summer term 1953:

‘This great event in the life of the Queen cannot fail to remind us of the great heritage of tradition of which this country is rightly proud. We saw on June 2nd the apex of a thousand years of history, symbols of past events transformed into a living ceremony. It was a sorely needed lesson, for in this fast moving world we forget that what will make our nation great is a synthesis of past lessons and present energies.’

The following Old Shirburnians were awarded Coronation Honours and Promotions in 1953:

Geoffrey Arnold Wallinger, CMG, (1903-1979) (School House 1916-22), HM Ambassador to Thailand, appointed KCMG.
Dudley Owen Lumley, CB, OBE (1895-1964) (Harper House 1909-13), Deputy Director-General, The General Post Office, appointed KBE.
George Peter Humphreys-Davies (1909-1985) (The Green 1922-28), Under Secretary, HM Treasury, received the CB.
Cedric George Buttenshaw, DSO, MBE (1912-2003) (Harper House 1926-30), Lieutenant-Colonel, Royal Artillery, received the OBE.
Edward Leslie Spencer, DSO (1902-1976) (School House 1916-20), Lieutenant-Colonel, Royal Artillery awarded the OBE.
Robert Edward Moss, OBE (1908-1991) (Abbey House 1922-25), Lieutenant-Colonel, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, received the MVO.

Rachel Hassall
Archivist, Sherborne School

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