Coronation is on TV as families stage celebration parties

Queen Elizabeth, 27, was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953 and everyone wanted to mark the occasion with street parties and other festivities.

Families in Cornwallis Road at Cowley, Oxford, were no exception as you can see in the picture above, sent in by reader and former resident Pat Ross.

READ MORE: How people in Oxfordshire celebrated the Coronation

Mrs Ross, now of Bowness Avenue, Headington, was too young to remember much about the day, but you can see the joy of everyone as they gathered for a photograph in their array of hats.

It was the first Coronation to be televised and there was a rush to buy sets so that families could see the historic event in the comfort of their homes.

However, it wasn’t comfort for everyone. Many who had a TV found their homes invaded by others who hadn’t managed to buy or rent one.

One reader remembered his family house being crammed with neighbours anxious to see the ceremony on their 12in Bush screen.

He recalled: “Some stood in our hall and on the stairs anxious to get a glimpse over the heads of everyone else!”

Oxford celebrated the Coronation in style, with many buildings decorated and floodlit.

Coronation celebrations in New Marston Oxford (Image: Oxford Mail)

One of the most striking displays was a crown with flags on the roof of Oxford railway station.

Oxford Town Hall boasted another, with cherubs, a crown, flags, coats of arms, a picture of the new monarch and a message, Long Live the Queen.

The Roman Catholic Church of St Francis of Assisi at Cowley featured red, white and blue flowers on its perimeter walls and two white and gold columns, with the Papal flag and the flag of St George on top. The display was illuminated at night.

Meanwhile, Cowley car workers entered the factory through two decorated entrances.