Unique Photos of Coronation Day Celebrations Colorized and Enhanced on MyHeritage

In honor of the Queen’s upcomingPlatinum Jubilee, MyHeritage users shared their most extraordinary, never-before-seen photographs taken during the celebrations of Her Majesty’s Coronation Day back in June 1953, and the stories of the people featured in them.

The photographs were brought to life using the MyHeritage photo tools, including MyHeritage In Color™ and the MyHeritage Photo Enhancer.

While the coronation ceremony was held at Westminster Abbey, millions of people从女王的王国到英联邦的其他国家，都在街上与家人、邻居和朋友一起庆祝这一历史事件。世界杯东道主2022Street parties included happy feasts,tea and coronation cakes, fancy dress competitions, and more.

Jean Flanneryfrom New Zealand was 8 years old on Coronation Day. She shared photos taken at Bletchley, South-East England, where she used to live with her family:

“My mother made the costumes for the fancy dress contest, largely from crêpe paper,” says Jean. “My costume was ‘Red, White and Blue,’ with a Coronation crown. My 4-year-old sister Carole’s costume was ‘Hip, Hip, Hurray!’ and my 9-year-old cousin Ken was a ‘Royal Herald.’ I felt very miffed that Ken went on to actually win the competition in an outfit made by my mother.”

“The pictures were taken in our back garden, with my Dad’s cabbages and the neighbor’s washing as backdrop!” she laughs. “We all shivered in our costumes, as the day was very cold for June — and it rained too. But it was still a truly special day for us to remember.”

“There were town celebrations as well as individual ones,” Jean recalls. “We went to a children’s party in one of the local church halls. There was a celebratory tea for us with sandwiches, jelly, and cake. All the children were given souvenir Coronation mugs and plates. Flags and bunting were to be seen everywhere.”

“One of my birthday presents that year was a big, round Coronation jigsaw puzzle,” adds Jean. “In the middle was a picture of the Coronation itself, and around the edges were scenes from the Queen’s life. Although difficult, it was a really good puzzle.”

Colin Willsfrom England was also 8 years old on Coronation Day. “The Street Party was organized by the residents of the Warwick Road Hill on what was then the outskirts of Banbury in North Oxfordshire,” says Colin. “They all moved into these new Council Houses almost simultaneously in 1947, only two years after World War II ended.”

1953年的时候，还没有商店可以购买或租用服装，所以所有的服装都是手工制作的。我的母亲在她的智慧决定把我打扮成一个加冕饼干用红，白，蓝crêpe纸和白丝带。一种新颖的与场合相符的想法，但又不太实用，如果你想看到摆在你面前的，很脆弱，有一种撕扯的倾向。遗憾的是，我没有赢得比赛，但为了这张照片，我设法保持了我的服装完整。

There was a good spread for us kids to get stuck into like Spam sandwiches, fancy cakes and lemonade. The adults no doubt swilled the food down with Banbury Ale. Such a contrast to a few years before when everything was on ration.

Every building in the land was decked out in the patriotic colors of red, white and blue bunting and Union Jack Flags in anticipation of the big day.”

Pamela Smithgrew up in Liverpool andwas 6 years old on Coronation Day. This photo was taken at a street party on Cambria Street, where she grew up:

帕梅拉说:“我是后排左七，坐在桌边，戴着一顶三角形的帽子。”“坐在我右边的妹妹帕特里夏(Patricia)快两岁了，13岁的弟弟查尔斯(Charles)是那个打领带的年轻人，他在我右边三岁。

“Cambria Street was inhabited by a working-class population,” Pamela explains. “It was a close-knit community, popping into each other’s homes regularly, and the adults sharing a drink at the local pub situated at the top of our road. Many of the neighbors would care for each other’s children and were commonly referred to as aunties. The parents would organize street outings in the summer and hire buses to take everyone to the seaside,” she recalls.

“The preparations for Coronation Day’s street party had been ongoing for months by our community,” Pamela remembers. “I was 5 when the Queen’s father died, and I remember that when the radio broadcasted the notification of his death —“the king is dead” — my initial reaction was strong. It was a very somber news broadcast, and I instinctively knew that it was a historical moment.”

Melvyn Bullwas 10 years old on Coronation Day. This photo features him (far left), his brother Rodney, age 6, and other children from his grandparents’ tenement at Adelaide Place, Hampshire:

“We lived in a different area in Fareham,” says Melvyn, “and on the special holiday for Coronation Day we came to celebrate with my grandparents, and enjoyed tea and great cakes.”

Melvyn adds that 4 years later his family moved to Rhodesia, and in 1964, they moved to South Africa, where they still live today.

The following Coronation Day photos fromPaula Glazebrookwere taken on St. Mary’s Road, Edmonton, North London:

““The coloured photo is my Grandmother Rachel White with my brother David to her right, my cousin Stephen in the middle and my brother Alan on her left,” says Paula.