Edward VIII’s reign lasted just ten months, ending with his abdication on 10 December 1936 in favour of his brother who was crowned George VI at Westminster Abbey on 12 May 1937 (the date originally set for Edward VIII’s coronation).
In Sherborne on the 12 May 1937, the Abbey was floodlit for five days and the streets and buildings were decorated with red, white and blue bunting and Union flags. On the day of the Coronation a service was held in Sherborne Abbey and an afternoon of sports and games was arranged in the Old Castle grounds, where the children were given Coronation mugs and at 7 pm the King’s speech to the Empire was broadcast. In the evening there was dancing in the Pageant Gardens, a bonfire was lit on Dancing Hill and fireworks were set off on the Slopes.
Suggestions for how Sherborne should commemorate the Coronation included the building of ‘cottages for the aged’ and a town swimming bath on the site of the workhouse in Horsecastles (now the site of Durrant’s Close).
The editorial in June 1937 issue of The Shirburnian also reflected on what should be the legacy of the Coronation:
‘The ultimate value of the Coronation does not lie in a complacent enumeration of the happier features of national life, but rather that it serves to encourage those who struggle for the true interests of the English people. There is a great deal to be done in almost every sphere of national life; it is to be hoped that the Coronation has not only inspired programmes, but has given some indication of the equally vital problems of approach and fulfilment.’
At Sherborne Prep School, Donald Moffat-Wilson (Sherborne Prep School 1933-37, Lyon House 1937-41) was one of six Scouts from Dorset chosen to attend the Coronation, which they watched from Constitution Hill. Afterwards, the Chief Scout Robert Baden-Powell paid a surprise visit to the Scouts who were camping at the Royal Horticultural Hall. Donald, who was a member of the 4th Sherborne (Prep.) Troop and a King’s Scout, went on to serve in the Second World War as a Pilot Officer with 165 Squadron, RAFVR, and was killed in action over the Brest Peninsula in June 1944, aged just 21. His name can be seen at the Prep School on the Scouts Honours Board (Bulls) and the Second World War Roll of Honour. He is also remembered at Sherborne School at Lyon House, on the Chapel War Memorial Staircase and in the Book of Remembrance.
Michael James Gordon (Abbeylands 1942-45), a choral scholar of King’s College Cambridge, holds the rare honour of having sung at two coronations. In 1937, when a pupil at St George’s School, Windsor, Michael sang at the Coronation of George VI, and in 1953, when Assistant Organist of Eton College, he sang at the Coronation of Elizabeth II.
The following Old Shirburnians were awarded Coronation Honours and Promotions in 1937:
- Lt.-Col. Harold John Hunter Davson, DSO (1880-1961) (The Green 1895-97), a Gold Staff Officer at Westminster Abbey at the Coronation, received the Coronation medal.
- Colonel (temporary Brigadier) William Elworthy Kidner, MC (1884-1969) (Abbey House 1897-91), Chief Engineer, Eastern Command, Royal Engineers, lately deputy Engineer-in-Chief (Works), Army Headquarters, India, appointed C.I.E.
- Lieutenant (Local Major) Christopher Melfort Baldwin (1905-1940) (Lyon House 1920-24), The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge’s Own), attached Trans-Jordan Frontier Force, appointed M.B.E. (Military Division)
On 1 June 1950, George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited Sherborne School to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the re-founding of the School by Edward VI.
Rachel Hassall
Archivist, Sherborne School
See also:
- George VI and Queen Elizabeth’s visit the Sherborne School, 1 June 1950
- Royal visits and celebrations
For further information about the Sherborne School Archives please contact the School Archivist
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