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The day the Queen came to town
Mark Milnes with the album he found in the library about the Queen's visit in 1954. (d29051205)
THIS week we’ve seen all manner of ways to celebrate the Queen’s 60 years on the throne.
It is fortunate, then, that staff at Batley Library stumbled upon a picture book celebrating October 28, 1954 – the day Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh came to visit the town.
A programme produced by the Borough of Batley states the Queen of two years and Prince Philip arrived ‘at the boundary of the borough in Halifax Road by motor car’ at 10.30am, passing Track Road, Dark Lane, Clerk Green Street, Mayman Lane and Commercial Street to get to Market Place, where a crowd of ticket holders and the Regimental Band of the York and Lancaster Regiment were eagerly awaiting.
School children had assembled in Dark Lane at its junction with Track Road and Purlwell Lane with flags. The Royal Party was greeted in the town centre by the Mayor and Mayoress, Coun and Mrs C Wilman, and the Town Clerk Mr L O Bottomley.
As well as many aldermen, councillors and vicars, the Queen met Mrs Annie Kenyon, a weaver with 62 years’ service at her present employers, Mr Leonard Noble, departmental manager and wool blender with 55 years’ service at his present employers, Miss Sheila Oldroyd, a pupil at Princess Royal Girls’ Secondary School and Master Michael Sykes, a pupil at Birstall County Primary School.
The Queen and His Royal Highness signed the Distinguished Visitors’ Book, before inspecting a display of goods manufactured in Batley.
As the Royal car drove its party away from the Market Place, some 45 minutes after it brought it in, the regimental band played the National Anthem.
The party was driven to Morley, along Commercial Street, Hick Lane, Bradford Road, Carlinghow Hill – past the old hospital once visited by King George VI and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen’s mother and Batley Grammar School – to Timothy Lane at the Borough Boundary.
Customer service officer at the library, Mark Milnes, said to have found the book this year was great.
“This is a year of Royal celebration, and I think this book is something people would be very interested to look at,” he said.
“It’s a lovely snapshot of a bygone era.
“Someone has obviously taken a lot of time making it and it’s quite impressive to see the number of people who were there.
“You can see some people were hanging out of the windows.”
The book will be on display as part of a Jubilee exhibition case at the library for the next few weeks.
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Weather for Batley
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 12 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: East
