Happy memories: Maurice Bannister was a sailor on HMAS Sydney, which sailed to England in 1953 for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s monarch of more than 70 years, passed away peacefully at her Scotland summer home on September 9 (AEST).
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The monarch came to the throne at just 25 years of age on February 6, 1952, after her father King George VI passed away.
She was crowned the next year, on June 2, 1953.
Numurkah man Maurice Bannister was a 20-year-old steward in the Royal Australian Navy on the HMAS Sydney crew.
The HMAS Sydney took Australian and New Zealand defence force personnel to England for the Queen’s coronation festivities, including the 400-ship Review of the Fleet at Spithead.
“It was jam-packed, like you see in London all the time. It was very festive,” Mr Bannister said.
“Everyone had a ball and there was plenty to see and plenty to do.”
Mr Bannister was among the sailors standing to attention on the HMAS Sydney’s deck 13 days later when the Queen undertook a review of 400 ships that had sailed across the world for the occasion.
Memento: The certificate Maurice Bannister received for being part of the crew of the HMAS Sydney at the Queen’s Coronation Review at Spithead in 1953.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine. Throughout all my life and with all my heart, I shall strive to be worthy of your trust,” the Queen said in a speech to her subjects on her coronation day.
Mr Bannister said he thought the monarch had done a fine job throughout her reign.
“She said as a young lady ‘I’ll serve you’, and I thnk that’s what she’s done admirably,” he said.
“I think she was very well respected and revered.
“It’s a sad thing but I think it’s something that was coming.
“The (royal) family can certainly have my condolences.”
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