Coronation Day and Life in the 1950s

Coronation Day

On the day of the Coronation I remember walking back down The Mall to Buckingham Palace in the evening. Winston Churchill suddenly appearing heading back to 'Buck House' where he had stood with the Royal Family to be cheered by the assembled thousands of spectators much earlier in the day. My father said 'It's Winny, give him a cheer'. So, with my younger brother, the three of us called out and waved to him. He looked surprised, then took off his top hat and waved to 'us'. What a great man!

Life in the 1950s

In those days not many people had a telephone and home computers did not exist. Our ice cream was delivered by a 'Walls' or 'Eldorado' trike with a cold cabinet in front and a single wheel at the back, pedalled by a strong man. Not many people had a fridge and would eat their cornet, wafer, or tub straight away.

Few families possessed a car in those days and motorcycles, sometimes with a sidecar attached, were popular. In fact I raced at brands hatch when it was a grass track.

Peter Morey