HAVE YOUR SAY

letters

THANKS FOR WRITING TO US, WE LOVE HEARING WHAT YOU THINK

Royal 'wedding' Here is a photo (right) of myself and my friend David, both aged two. We won the fancy dress competition at a street party in Harold Hill, Essex, in 1953 to celebrate the Queen's coronation.

We are photographed sucking large sweets because apparently I would not stop crying! Perhaps I felt a bit too young to be taking such a big step in my life! I wonder where David is now?

Pamela Templeton Ayrshire

Bible and biscuits I was nine years old and I watched the coronation in Greenock on our new TV set with my mum and dad, my two sisters and some of the neighbours. The set had been bought especially so that we could watch it.

Afterwards we had a party in the 'back green' behind the tenement across the street. I also have a New Testament Bible (right) that I was presented with as a member of the Sunday school of Greenock Gaelic Church - all Sunday school children received one.

In school we were given a tin of biscuits with the Queen depicted on the tin but I don't have that any more.

Fiona Campbell Linlithgow, West Lothian

Memory lane Readers have sent in their memories and photos of the Queen's coronation

Packed to capacity I was 11years old and living in Weymouth, Dorset, where I was born. Only one person we knew had a TV set, so on coronation day, my mum and dad went to the pub, The Old Castle, opposite our house and I went to the top of our road to watch it on a 9in Echo TV set in their small front room, which was packed to capacity.

The photo (below) is of our street party - that's me at the end of the red line.

Pauline Fieldhouse (nee Newey) St Austell, Cornwall

Colourful recollections My father was a Scout leader and the Scouts were allocated tickets for seats in a stand on the coronation route. After a ballot, my father won two for Piccadilly.

I was nine at the time and had only been to London once, so to go again and this time see the Queen on her coronation day was beyond my wildest dreams!

I remember leaving the house in the dark because we had to be in our seats by ?am! It was a wet and cold day and, looking back, it was very brave of my father to elect to look after a fidgety nine-year-old. I remember him having to take me out to the back of the stands to be sick at one point, such was the level of my excitement! Loudspeakers kept us informed of what was happening and a huge cheer went up when the news of Hillary and Tenzing 'conquering' Everest came through!