CORONATION MEMORIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23302, 21 September 1937, Page 7

CORONATION MEMORIES

TALK TO OVERSEAS LEAGUE MRS J. A. HANAN’S IMPRESSIONS Impressions of the Coronation pageantry and the unassailable place that is occupied by their Majesties, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, were among the matters discussed by Mrs J. A. Hanan in an informal talk with members of the Dunedin branch of the Overseas League in the Y.W.C.A.Hall last evening. In a paper which she said was written immediately after the Coronation while the events of the great occasion w’ere still fresh in her mind, Mrs Hanan described the wonder and colour and profound solemnity of Coronation Day from early morning until late in the evening. She commenced her narrative with the setting off of the official delegates from Grosvenor House before 7 o’clock in the morning for the drive through Hyde Park to Westminster Abbey, and illuminated a vivid description of the scenes in the abbey itself with a variety of references to notabilities and personages of high rank and position from all parts of the Empire and from Europe and Asia. The Coronation service and the celebrations in London, she said, ha<J left her with an ineradicable conviction of the might and power of England, the future and destiny of the British Empire, and the stability and essential nobility of the British peoples. The glitter and pomp and pageantry were a revelation in themselves, but they were nothing more than the visible symbols of the devotion of the people to the Throne and in effect q challenging gesture to the world in proof of the faith and loyalty of the Empire to the Crown. Speaking of the Royal Family, Mrs Hanan said that the King and Queen were already well-beloved in England, where the people were confident that they would lend their active support to everything that was for the good of the people, the advancement of the country, and the maintenance of the high standards of sovereignty that had been set for them. Queen Mary was still a greatly-loved figure, and throughout the Coronation celebrations her gracious and regal presence was always welcomed. Her attitude to the young King and Queen was an augury for the success of the reign. She helped them in innumerable ways and the people seemed to know it. At the Coronation she could have obtruded herself and would have been well received, but she steadfastly refused to do so. Always she stood to one side and a little in the background of the picture, realising that it was. the younger couple that now ruled England. Another thing that was always noticeable whenever the Royal Family appeared in public was the great affection entertained by the Queen for her mother-in-law.

Mrs Hanan commented on the generous recognition at Home of the accredited representatives of the dominions during the Coronation. In the abbey they had seats among the leaders of Empire at Home, and with the Ambassadors and diplomats of all the great countries of Europe, and while on this subject she referred to the wonderful hospitality of the great families of England, who displayed the kindliness and courtesy of the true aristocrat to the visitors from abroad and lent their houses and their presence to every endeavour that was made to entertain them.

Referring to the London crowds, the speaker said that they were traditionally good humoured, but for the Coronation they excelled themselves. Everyone seemed so jolly all the time, even when waiting for hours after sleepless nights in the open for the great pageant to begin. And everyone remained completely sober even at the height of the celebrations. During the whole of the Coronation she wopld say that she did not see a single drunken man or woman, and she had been greatly impressed by that fact, considering the gay nature of the commemoration. At night it was the same when thousands of merrymakers, including hundreds of students, thronged the streets. Mrs Hanan referred in detail to some of the many receptions and banquets which she was privileged to attend, and commented on the lavish hospitality of the great ancient guilds of London, which spared no expense and effort to make the visit of overseas delegates memorable. The occasion was one which would live in memory forever, and one looked back upon it with feelings of thankfulness for the privilege of having been able to attend and pride in one’s nationality and one’s Empire. After supper and a social, adjournment a hearty vote of thanks was carried to the speaker by acclamation.