Recently released "never before seen" footage shows Liverpool and Birkenhead during the 1953 coronation celebrations.
For many of us, the upcoming coronation of King Charles III will be the first we have seen in our lifetime. The new King will be crowned at Westminster Abbey on May 6 alongside Camilla, the Queen Consort - just four weeks shy of the 70th anniversary of his late mother's coronation.
At the age of 27, Elizabeth II was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, 18 months after her father’s death. Becoming the 39th Sovereign to be crowned there and the 14th Queen, an estimated 27 million people watched the coronation on television, while 11 million listened on the radio.
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To mark the upcoming coronation The North West Film Archive (NWFA) at Manchester Metropolitan University has released a compilation of films from their collection, showcasing how people in the North West region have celebrated coronations throughout history. The team from the archive have created a fascinating two minute edit of footage set to stirring music that shows local people celebrating the coronations of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937.
Giving viewers a glimpse into a bygone era, some of the footage featured in the film has never been seen before including the celebratory scenes in Liverpool and Birkenhead. Part of the film captures flags, bunting, and decorations filling the streets of Bootle in 1953 and the Priory housing estate in Birkenhead in 1937.
Colourful parades and marching bands are also seen making their way through crowd-lined streets in Liverpool city centre. Other local landmarks in the North West feature, showing viewers everything from the costumes and clothes, people socialising and dancing, and enjoying the food of the time.
Geoff Senior, Access Co-Ordinator at the North West Film Archive, said: "It’s a wonderful chance to be able to look back at this material and see how our families and communities came together and celebrated these huge events, especially in what, like now, were quite tough times.
"It will be fascinating to see if those celebrating this time choose to film their events and pass them to the archive for us to look back on in years to come. The work of collecting material for the archive continues so we can hopefully leave just as rich a legacy as those before us."
Iconic landmarks in Manchester city centre including Manchester Town Hall, Manchester Central Library – home to NWFA – and Piccadilly Gardens are shown, as well as street parties and celebrations in Ashton-under-Lyne and parades in Great Harwood, Lancashire.
Part of Manchester Metropolitan University, the North West Film Archive (NWFA) is based within Manchester Central Library Archives+ partnership and is a specialist resource dedicated to saving and growing the region’s rich filmed history. From historical footage and home movies to newsreels and adverts, the NWFA preserves and shares over 50,000 items of film and video, for public, educational, and professional use.
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Elsewhere, the University’s Special Collections Museum holds a range of commemorative objects, photographs and printed materials in its collection relating to the coronations of Queen Elizabeth II and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Highlights include a commemorative mug designed by Eric Ravilious in 1936 for Josiah Wedgewood and Sons. Originally designed for the coronation of Edward VIII, it was replicated in blue for the coronation of King George VI and in pink for Queen Elizabeth II.
Also in the collection, The Bairn’s Coronation Book by Clare Bridgman and Charles Robinson (1902) features beautiful colour illustrations to commemorate the coronation of King George VI.
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