Episode 1 Elizabeth's Wales

It was special, yes, I think everybody joined in.

It was such a lot of fun.

It brings back so many memories.

Unbelievable memories. Great, you know?

So much happiness in those days.

Of course it was a great occasion

and it's an occasion where everybody got together.

And the mood was absolutely brilliant.

It was after the war, you see, and this was something new, wasn't it?

It was a day that would be etched into the memories of millions,

such was its spectacle.

People were huddled around their television sets,

many for the first time,

watching in wonder as their new Queen emerged to the world.

And, like the rest of Britain, Wales erupted in celebration.

On every street, on every corner, in every community,

there was an outpouring of affection

from people captivated by their new Queen.

And, amazingly, these unique scenes

were caught on camera by amateur filmmakers in glorious colour.

The magical images captured all kinds of people.

Almost six decades, on I'm taking a journey around Wales

to find them and see what they remember

from that first summer of Elizabeth's Wales.

I meet the friends from Newport

with memories of the last great party on their street.

I track down the fairy queen and her childhood friends,

girls back then, now with grandchildren of their own.

And I join a reunion party.

Dozens of people brought back together to watch a long-lost film.

Eight years had passed since the end of World War II.

In Wales it was a time of uncertainty and severe austerity.

But the 1950s ushered in a feeling of optimism.

It was that hope for the future

that drove people to extraordinary lengths to celebrate the Coronation.

Elaborate home-made decorations adorned the streets,

made from basic materials like crepe paper and tinfoil.

Miles of bunting had been painstakingly sewn

from scarce scraps of cloth and pictures of the young Queen

hung from houses as if she were a member of the family.

It was about the future. Elizabeth was a young, beautiful Queen.

Even her name was symbolic. People were talking about,

this may be the beginning of a second Elizabethan age,

where Britain will rediscover its position in the world.

So, the Coronation matters, not just because it is a fun event

but because it captures the time.

A Britain looking back to its history for a sense of security

but also looking forward to the future,

trying to work out where we are going with a degree of hope and optimism.

The terraced houses that have criss-crossed Newport for generations

are nestled alongside the modern developments these days.

Times have changed.

In Pillgwenlly, streets that existed in 1953

have all but disappeared.

This is all that remains of Raglan Street,

where the Coronation was celebrated with feverish excitement.

There were banners.

Because they were sash windows, they could just go in the bedrooms

and string them across window to window

and our house won the best-dressed house in the town.

And it was just fabulous because it was just festooned with colour.

There you are, this is Raglan Street now, there I am, Sian.

There's Robert, and there's me ducking underneath.

In 1953, these five called Raglan Street home.

Having survived the trials and tribulations of war,

they were ready to party when the Coronation came around.

And they've reunited to tell me how they did it.

How much effort went into preparations?

An enormous amount. Everybody mucked in with it. Everybody did.

We all made flowers, we made the bunting.

There was a kind of going to see Father Christmas in a department store, you know?

It had that sort of effect on you.

You know? Well, on me anyway!

It was just magical, it was really incredible.

-What's going on here?

-This is Raglan Street.

-This is when they were putting the big banner up.

-That's right.

-Amazing banner, that, isn't it?

-Yes, amazing.

It was spread from one side of the street to the other

and it said "God save the Queen", but it was all in flowers.

And they had three stepladders, old wooden stepladders,

with a plank across. Health and safety it would be these days!

And that's how they put it up.

There they were, the young fellas, putting this banner up!

Nothing to protect them at all. But it had to be 20 foot in the air.

-The big crown there, I can remember the women making it.

-Yes.

In the house, making the flowers for it and gathering them together.

You made them with crepe paper and you rucked it together

and you squizzed the bottom and you tied a little bit of wire around it.

Not posh, they weren't posh like the Watts's.

-THEY LAUGH

-Your family did a posh version?

-Yes, they did a posh version!

We waxed them. We melted candles and dipped them in the wax

because it rained on the day of the Coronation,

and it was obviously forecast, so to preserve them against the elements

of the bad weather, they waxed them.

It wasn't only the streets that were given a new look.

Just as much effort went into making costumes.

Fancy-dress shops were almost unheard-of,

so an army of mums and grandmothers took out their needles and thread.

Some where elaborate, others more simple.

Dressing up was all part of the fun.

They dressed us up as two tramps.

The neighbour, she put her hand up the chimney,

because we had the old coal fires in those days,

-she put her hand up the chimney...

-To get the soot!

She put it over my face and over Norman's face.

My father kitted me out with a nightshirt

and an old-fashioned Scrooge-type hat

and I was Wee Willie Winkie and I came third.

Oh, not bad!

I decided to dress up as Monica, schoolgirl.

I don't know why, don't ask me.

It was probably my female side coming out.

THEY LAUGH

I had Maureen's gymslip... THEY LAUGH

..and I had dark stockings, I don't know where they got those from.

Black stockings and I made the wig myself, believe it or not.

I'm very proud of that, even though it was odd. Dreadful.

THEY ALL LAUGH

This sign is all that remains of Raglan Street,

where those childhood memories were made.

The people that pass by now will have little idea

that it was the setting for such colourful celebrations.

It was a real community spirit.

Everybody... Everybody did something towards it.

I've always said it is something I will never, ever forget.

People were so happy, and everybody mucked in.

It was the last great party. Great party in the street.

The Coronation prompted lavish displays of civic pride.

Councils competed with one another to make their area look the best.

Pictures of Queen Elizabeth adorned high streets. From department stores to local greengrocers,

everyone made an effort with their red, white and blue.

Special bus tours were even organised,

so sightseers could see all the decorations.

In North Wales, too, people were pulling out all the stops.

On this estate in Ruthin, families were making

new lives for themselves after the war.

The Coronation was an excuse

for them to let their hair down.

Parc Y Dre was a focal point for celebrations, with residents

working together, to put on a party that would unite the street.

Beryl Harvard remembers her mother

mobilising a team of party planners a year before the Coronation.

It was my mother's idea.

She mentioned it to a few friends and then they decided they'd have

a meeting of all the residents, which was held at the town hall.

It was very successful and well attended,

and in this meeting, there were volunteers for different things.

She proposed that we had a street party, that there was carnival,

that there would be sports,

a fireworks and a bonfire.

-Gosh! And food?

-And food, yes!

'Food was a pivotal part of the party. Beryl and her friends

'were given the task of ferrying plates of sandwiches

'along this lane, from the local hall to the party on Parc Y Dre.'

It must have felt like quite a responsibility at the time, for a 12-year-old?

I suppose, at that time, I didn't think of it as a responsibility,

but if you I look back, it probably was,

because if I had dropped the egg mayonnaise,

it would have been chaotic!

They'd have had to start from scratch.

-No egg sandwiches for the big C!

-No!

'Today, the hall is still at the heart of the community.'

So, what is it like being back in the drill hall?

Well, it is a lot different from what it was

-all these years ago now.

-Is it?

Yes, it was quite dark and gloomy, I remember.

-Yes, it is nice and bright and clean.

-So why did you come here?

They did the sandwiches. It was like a production line.

I remember I must have been sent on a message

and I was to come here to look for my mum.

And I was just amazed. All these women, all busy buttering bread

and slapping bits of meat in.

-So they'd be ferried from here, down the lane?

-Down the lane, yes,

to the tables.

So there was quite a procession of the mums doing that.

What are your memories, then, of the event itself?

It was a wonderful atmosphere. That is something I will never forget,

even though I was only a child.

-It was a good community spirit, wasn't there?

-Everyone knew everyone.

And everybody wanted to participate

and to make cakes or to help, in one way or another.

It really was a wonderful day.

In the footage, my mum is running up and down.

I think she was organising the water for the teapots.

And I'm amazed I cannot see my dad anywhere.

I think he must have been doing his bit in the kitchen, boiling kettles!

Did they not do an enormous amount, then, the men?

No, I don't remember anything much of anything else.

They probably weren't allowed to! Weren't as capable!

Beryl was the fairy queen and I was one of her attendants.

I remember my little dress. It had has been starched into submission.

It was sticking out here all the way round, just like a little ballerina.

I was really made up.

You were in charge then, Beryl, as fairy queen?

Yes, I thought I was the bee's knees, sitting there on my throne,

when we were going round the town. I thought it was quite special.

I mean, I am very modest about it now, but, no, it was a great thrill.

I really remember being made up that day.

I had my hair all curls, because my hair was dead straight.

My mother put the ringlets in the night before, to get it all wavy.

So that was really nice. It was special.

Yes, I think everybody joined in. It was such a lot of fun.

A huge attraction at parties across Wales were the sports and games

organised for the children. And the adults, too.

Three-legged races, egg and spoon and tug-of-war contests

all took place. It was good innocent fun.

And it was no different on Parc Y Dre,

where the neighbouring field was taken over.

-What were you doing in the sports?

-Lots of events.

I had butterflies in my tummy and everybody was watching

and clapping every time you were successful.

It was nice, everybody was there.

-You didn't have your gym kit on, though, did you?

-No. You noticed(!)

ALL LAUGH

My skirt was tucked into my knickers, but there we are.

-You still did it, though. Still did the jumps.

-Yes.

Yes, I came second in the 80-metres sprint and second and the hurdles.

I won the balloon race. I don't know what it was, I can't remember.

Then I won the 11-13 high jump

and then I went into the 13-15 age group and I won that, as well.

-Did you?

-And my friend Sybil, who won the 80-metres sprint,

she reminded me that we won sixpence.

ALL LAUGH

Can remember what you did with your sixpence?

I collected quite a bit, overall, that day, with the all the events.

I can't remember, but we had a lot of money.

What are your thoughts, looking back?

Everybody was so good tempered, weren't they?

Yes, yes. Yes, it was great fun. Yes, it was great fun.

Happy memories.

Before leaving Ruthin, there were two more people

I wanted to meet.

Bill Pritchard had made a life for him and his family on Parc Y Dre

after the war. The 94-year-old didn't even know

that film from the street party existed.

'Bill's son, Glyn, has travelled from his home on Anglesey.

'He is keen to have a look at the footage and to try to spot himself.'

-There he is, that's Glyn.

-Is that you?

-That's me.

-Oh!

You looked a bit cheeky.

The uniforms are quite elaborate, weren't they?

They were. Very elaborate.

You couldn't go to the shops and buy one of those,

-could you? They would have been made from scratch.

-Later on, you'll see

the painted moustaches that my dad did.

These boys with moustaches, that's your work?

Yes. In my younger days, I was involved with amateur dramatics

and I had a make-up box in the house.

And they made me paint moustaches on most of the soldiers,

I don't know if I did all of them.

The women look like they are doing a lot of the organising.

-Well, they did all the organising.

-What did the men do?

Nothing!

THEY LAUGH

-Eating.

-Eating!

It's easy to sit back and watch old films these days,

television is taken for granted.

Six decades ago, though, TVs were rare and incredibly expensive.

But televising the Coronation encouraged those who could afford it to buy their first set.

Incredibly, 20 million people managed to watch

the Coronation unfold on a screen in front of them.

Television turns the Coronation into a shared experience,

people come together to watch it. Not everyone had a TV

and some people watched it in the homes of neighbours,

some people watched it in public buildings such as hospitals

or old people's homes or pubs. What the Coronation

maybe does for television is give television

a degree of respectability.

Before 1953, there was a degree of distress that this was

a popular thing, this was something maybe for the working classes.

But it makes it respectable for many middle-class families, who were

the ones who could afford televisions.

But they did come together to watch it.

We were one of the few people on the estate who had got a television

and it was a colossal-sized box, but the screen was only about that big.

And it was black and white.

It ended up with 17 people, I think, in that little room,

round that box, watching the telly.

-It looks like a very happy time.

-It was.

-Can you remember the atmosphere on the day, Bill?

-Oh, yes.

Just the crowd and the happy family, you know.

And the children and...

It was great. Granny was there. Nye was there.

It was wonderful, when I think back.

The street parties were carried out with military precision.

But the real Army were on manoeuvres during the Coronation, in honour of their new Commander-in-Chief.

On Pontypridd Common, vehicle convoys and tons of artillery

rolled onto the hillside for gun salutes.

Even the regimental band - and goat -

were in attendance for the ceremony.

And amongst the ranks was an amateur cameraman,

catching everything on colour film.

Hundreds of residents made the journey from the town itself

to be part of the pomp and ceremony,

and gathered together as the guns were fired.

In Newport, it was reported that the 21-gun salute rattled windows,

almost to the point of shattering.

The Welsh towns, villages

and hamlets that exploded in celebration have evolved since 1953.

People have left the homes where they grew up

and memories of the Coronation have faded.

But this man's passion could help rekindle them.

Evan Morgan was fascinated with film

and captured life in South Wales as the 1950s unfolded.

This forgotten footage of a Llantwit Fardre street party

hasn't been seen publicly for decades.

Until now.

Nearly 100 people have been invited to a special screening

at the pub down the road from where the party took place.

There are guests in attendance, hoping to spot themselves on screen.

-You OK?

-I'm fine.

Some haven't seen each other for nearly half a century.

Others have travelled hundreds of miles just to be here.

And this unique reunion wouldn't be complete without some VIPs.

Glan ran the local shop and was the chief party planner.

Pat is related to a very important person.

-Of course, your father shot all the footage, didn't he?

-Yes.

He was a fitter by trade.

He just picked it up.

And he was with the Cardiff Cine Society and he started from there.

And he made his own room up in the house,

he had the films on the reels and then he would stop it

and splice it and then join it up again and I used to help him.

With his white gloves on. We used to spend hours up there.

He thoroughly enjoyed it.

Pat's dad was run off his feet during the Coronation as

he lugged his camera kit from valley to valley and street to street.

Today, with the guests in their seats,

his work flickers to life again,

watched by its biggest audience ever.

-Is it one of those streets off Broadway?

-Yes.

Like Egypt Street?

When it's time for the main event, silence falls.

The film from Llantwit Fardre,

known locally then has Llantwit Main, is just 60 seconds long,

but it's enough to transport everyone back in time nearly 60 years.

Mary, what is it like watching the footage after all these years?

It's really quite exciting

and it's nice to see everyone here today that took part in that,

because we were a very small village and we were all very close.

We didn't just go to school together,

we practically lived our lives together,

until we all moved away to get married,

and a lot of us lost touch, which is a bit sad, really.

But it is really nice, yes.

And of course, my uncle took all the film, which is lovely.

So that brings back nice memories too.

And what about the mood on the day? What was it like?

-It was a great occasion.

-It was, wasn't it? Yes.

This is a small village and there wasn't an awful lot

happening in this village, so of course, it was a great occasion.

And it's an occasion where everybody got together.

And they made it something.

Some of you have lost touch, but to see people

after all these years, what's that been like?

I think we've all changed hair colour since then!

It's marvellous to see all these people here today.

Because all these families,

they represent the village, don't they, really?

-Yes.

-We enjoy their company, and we did then and we do now.

-Oh, yes, everybody knew everyone else in the village.

-Yes.

The festivities were held a stone's throw away from the pub.

Everyone was invited and everybody brought something along to share,

all piling out of their homes to be together for the Coronation.

Everybody pitched in with the food. The cakes and sandwiches, and jelly.

I don't like jelly!

Mr Brown lived here and he offered to give the committee

lemonade for the children for the day.

On the committee was a minister, Mr Howells.

Mr Howells said, "You cannot give children lemonade from a pub!"

THEY LAUGH

You could never believe it now, could you?

There's me at the back, with my pigtails!

-John!

-I think that's me. I can remember a street party,

but I would only have been about five then, so, you know.

You look like you're enjoying yourself!

LAUGHTER

I'm pouting for something, by the look of it!

Do you think you were aware at the time of how important a day

it was, that it was the Coronation? Because you were quite young.

Yes, I mean, I was only 10,

so we had it in the back of our mind what was going on,

you know, the celebrations.

And there wasn't many with televisions in the street, see?

And just to think, if it wasn't for your father,

nobody would be here together, celebrating it, would they?

No, no, no. Because I knew we had some of the street parties

on this tape, you know, for everybody to see and enjoy.

It's lovely to see it and it's nice to see,

but it's more important

to see the people here today, that's what I think is marvellous.

Everybody made an effort to enjoy it, and they did enjoy it.

That's all that it's all about, really.

I wish children could have the sort of childhood we had.

But, you know, it's not the same, is it, any more?

The footage has brought back some amazing memories.

There was a powerful sense of community here in 1953

and it's still evident today.

I think I'll leave them to party.

It's going to go on for a few hours longer.

Just like it did almost 60 years ago.

Across Wales, hundreds of bonfires and beacons

were waiting to be lit in Queen Elizabeth's honour.

At Thornhill near Caerphilly Mountain,

a log tower soaring 80 feet into the air was visible for miles.

On the neighbouring Garth Mountain, a precarious beacon

had been built by both adults and children.

It's hard to imagine the 60-foot bonfire would be allowed today.

As dusk fell, the evening sky exploded with orange and gold,

as flaming tributes pierced the night-time blackness.

It marked the end of an historic day.

A day that brought people together across Wales.

The coming to the throne of a young, glamorous woman mattered to people.

People were interested in it,

not just out of deference and respect.

There was a degree of what today we'd call soap opera about it.

People were interested in her life.

She was an icon just in the way that Hollywood film stars were.

Next time on Elizabeth's Wales,

we'll discover more about her first summer.

How tens of thousands lined the streets for a first glimpse

of their new Queen as her Coronation tour came to Wales.

I'll meet those who say they got so close,

they could have leant out and touched her.

And the Welsh coronation queens.

Find out how Honora had regal duties of her very own.

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