Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on the 2^nd June 1953 was celebrated widely all over the UK and, in Aberdeen, the occasion was taken seriously. The City Chamberlain announced that Coronation Day would be regarded as an additional public holiday to manual, technical and administrative workers and at the Harbour an entire sub-committee was created to deal with any matters in connection with the celebrations!  

 First, there was the matter of decorations. The Harbour Manager asked for suggestions but warned that the decorations should ideally be used from materials already in their possession as to befit the wish of Elizabeth that no large sums should be spent for the celebration. In return, the Harbour Engineer sent back a sketch drawn on planning paper. The total cost of his plan came to £82. This included the cleaning of existing decoration materials (£8), new decorations (£10), six window boxes with flowers (£24) and labour (£40). 

Of course, every celebration needs a headline event. This was to be the coronation river pageant on the River Dee which focused on historical Aberdeen. Letters from the Coronation Celebrations Committee seeking permissions from the Harbour Board show that they were planning boat races, decorated boats and a mock landing attack by the RAF between the Suspension Bridge and the Victoria Bridge. A mock execution of Sir John Gordon was also planned but cancelled for being too morbid.

 

Unfortunately, according to the Evening Express, the pageant was plagued by ‘wretched weather conditions’ and had a very minimal crowd.