The dawning of the age of Elizabeth (From Western Telegraph)

The dawning of the age of Elizabeth

The Western Telegraph of Wednesday, February 7th, 1952, recorded King George VIs death in a large black-bordered panel on its obituary page.

The adjacent column recorded the death, aged 63, of Mr Frederick Vivian Hay, of Pembroke, father of county councillor Viv Hay, the senior member of the current county council.

THE KING IS DEAD proclaimed the headline.

THIS MORNINGS SHOCK FOR BRITAIN AND THE WORLD. PASSED AWAY PEACEFULLY IN HIS SLEEP.

The panel stated: The King is dead. Britain and the world were shocked and stunned by the news, which was announced with a profound sorrow, shared by the whole nation and Empire, by the BBC at 11.15 this morning.

It stated that the King had died in his sleep at Sandringham in the early hours of this morning. The King had resorted to his Norfolk seat during the weekend after seeing his daughter, the Princess Elizabeth - now Queen - and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, off by aeroplane to East Africa on the first stage of their visit to Australasia.

He had stood in the cold, icy air of a London airport to pay the Royal emissaries good health and good fortune on their important mission.

It was apparent to everyone that the King, although he had made a miraculous recovery from the severe operation performed in May of last year, was far from well, and that it was only his high sense of public duty, and deep love for his daughter, that brought him to the airport, but no-one realised His Majesty was so near the end.

The following week the Western Telegraph carried a report of the Kings burial at Windsor and a poem, presumably written by someone local, eulogising the King in the most sentimental doggerel.

On the day of the funeral soldiers of the 302 Field Regiment of the Pembroke Yeomanry fired a salute at Picton Playing Fields to signal both the beginning, at 2 pm, and the end, of two minutes silence observed throughout the country for the dead Monarch.

There were memorial services at St Davids Cathedral and in other churches throughout the county when the mayors and other civic dignitaries paid their last respects.

The mayors also publicly read the proclamation of the new Queen. Outside The Shire Hall, Haverfordwest, the proclamation for the county was read by the High Sheriff, Lieutenant Colonel J. H. V. Higgon, of Scolton, and for the town by the mayor, Councillor Eddie Jones, while at Pembroke Dock, Alderman J. R.Williams performed the ceremony outside Albion Chapel.

Share your jubilee memories Somewhere in family photograph albums and maybe in boxes in the attics of Pembrokeshire there must be pictures of street parties and other events held to mark the Queens Coronation in 1953 and possibly her accession in 1952.

The Western Telegraph would like to hear from anyone with any such visual mementoes to illustrate feature articles on these events of half a century ago.

We would also like to hear from people who are planning parties or other events to mark the Queens Golden Jubilee this year.

Anyone who can help is asked to contact the News Editor at The Western Telegraph, Press Buildings, Old Hakin Road, Merlins Bridge, Haverfordwest, on (01437-761792) or wtel_jubilee@gwent-co.uk