Royal Visit to Leeds. 1949.

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volvojack
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Royal Visit to Leeds. 1949.

Post by volvojack »

My Sister, Brother and myself walked up to Roundhay Park as we had been told of a Royal visit. As we got to the Soldiers Field it was almost impossible to keep together as the crowd was so strong. When we managed to get into the Park everyone had to walk slowly. just before we got near a great roar and applause went up and we guessed that the Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh) had appeared. The crowd we were in surged forward and a few people fell. we three held onto each other but such was the mass of folks, now solid and not moving that we gave up and turned round. it was difficult to get out as people were still coming in. I still remember that there so many Tram Cars and Buses lined up outside. my Brother remarked that they would have to do quite a few journeys to clear that lot. After we told our Mother the tale she said she would take us to the Cinema a couple of weeks later we went to the Star off York Road and saw the whole thing twice

Some time later, after they passed through Leeds, I would think early 1950s they came up Dewsbury
Road and we all ran down there just in time to see an open car going by with the Royal couple in it.
So that was it as regards brushes with Royalty in my case, though my Brother Peter who was in the R.A.F. was one of the thousands of troops who lined the route for the Coronation.

The Duke of Edinburgh R.I.P.)
God save the Queen.

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Leodian
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Re: Royal Visit to Leeds. 1949.

Post by Leodian »

That's a fascinating memory to read volvojack :).
In case you have not seen it there follows a link to a short but sadly soundless news film of the visit. Wow that is some crowds on Hill 60! I doubt though that you will be able to spot yourself! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kea4AzYkcIA
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.

jma
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Re: Royal Visit to Leeds. 1949.

Post by jma »

My late mother used to say she took us to see that royal visit but I would have been four and I don't remember.

I do remember guarding the Duke of Edinburgh, who was notoriously reluctant to have any sort of protection.

He came to Leeds in the royal train in what must have been 1974 when I was a newly-promoted sergeant working at Upper Wortley. HRH was attending an evening function and his train was parked up during the afternoon alongside Kirkstall Power Station, which by then was derelict but largely still standing. All the metalwork on the side facing the train had been painted yellow. A posse of us including the superintendent, our inspector, me and perhaps eight PCs were dropped off in Gotts Park before HRH arrived and we assembled on Redcote Lane under the railway bridge where he would be unable to see us from the train. There was some tale that transport police dogs and their handlers were out-of-sight at either end of the train on the track. We stayed under the bridge for perhaps a couple of hours till the train completed its journey to the station.

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blackprince
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Re: Royal Visit to Leeds. 1949.

Post by blackprince »

I remember the later Royal Visit to Leeds in 1958.
Thanks to Leodis I now know exactly when and where I saw the Queen and Duke in Leeds. It was on the afternoon of Friday the 17th Oct 1958 because I lived in Harehills near the Burton's factory. The buzz went round and all the local kids lined the road to see the Queen and HRH visit Burton's factory on Hudson Rd. I joined the throng standing on the wall of Crockatt's Dry Cleaners near the junction of Compton Rd and Hudson Rd . We seemed to wait for hours and all I got was a fleeting view of a white gloved hand, and a profile like the one on the postage stamp, waving through the rear door window of the shiny black car. As the car slowed to turn right into Hudson Road I glimpsed the back of their heads in the rear window. I suppose I saw the spectacle for about 30 sec, but like all the other loyal subjects I cheered and waved a union jack. Even then, aged 10, I thought it was a bit of an anti-climax. With the coronation still a fairly recent memory maybe I expected a horse drawn carriage and a cavalry escort.
Forty years later I had a colleague & friend from Sri Lanka and he recalled waiting in the heat of the sun with all his classmates for hours on end to be rewarded with a very brief glimpse of the Queen and HRH as they flashed past in a car during a royal visit to Ceylon in the 50's. We had a laugh about our similar impressions of royal visits at opposite ends of the globe.

I had almost forgotten that I probably did catch a glimpse of the Duke on another occasion. It was on a pleasure cruise from Bridlington in the early 1950's, probably on the Yorkshire Belle, to see Flamborough Head and visit a large RN warship at anchor. There was an announcement on the tannoy that the Royal Sailing Yacht Bluebottle was sailing past us at some speed. Quite a sight. After the tour aboard the warship the weather turned rough, all the passengers were seasick and I discovered then that I had good sea legs. The weather was too rough to enter the Harbour at Brid so we didn't dock until late at night.
It used to be said that the statue of the Black Prince had been placed in City Square , near the station, pointing South to tell all the southerners who've just got off the train to b****r off back down south!

volvojack
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Re: Royal Visit to Leeds. 1949.

Post by volvojack »

This morning I was looking through Leodis I think) looking for more photographs of either the Royal visit to Roundhay Park when i came across a picture of people queuing along Boar Lane for the Trams to Roundhay Park. It was a fine day and there were quite a few children there. I would say that it stretched back to Trinity Church. There was a comment that Trams did not run on Boar Lane and if they did were are the overhead wires. I think he is missing the point, the queue is a continuation of people in Briggate also waiting to board a Tram. My Mother once took my Sister, Brother and myself to Children's day which was held in the Park and when we joined the queue it was just around the corner of Briggate and Boar lane. This would possibly be the answer. Maybe Leodian could find this on line somewhere
Ps. Also as you waited in line to board the tram you were under cover and there was a break in the queue on the pavement as they moved across the road into the long tram shelter.

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Leodian
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Re: Royal Visit to Leeds. 1949.

Post by Leodian »

volvojack wrote:
Tue 13 Apr, 2021 5:13 pm
This morning I was looking through Leodis I think) looking for more photographs of either the Royal visit to Roundhay Park when i came across a picture of people queuing along Boar Lane for the Trams to Roundhay Park. It was a fine day and there were quite a few children there. I would say that it stretched back to Trinity Church. There was a comment that Trams did not run on Boar Lane and if they did were are the overhead wires. I think he is missing the point, the queue is a continuation of people in Briggate also waiting to board a Tram. My Mother once took my Sister, Brother and myself to Children's day which was held in the Park and when we joined the queue it was just around the corner of Briggate and Boar lane. This would possibly be the answer. Maybe Leodian could find this on line somewhere
Ps. Also as you waited in line to board the tram you were under cover and there was a break in the queue on the pavement as they moved across the road into the long tram shelter.
Hi volvojack :)

I have added a link to what might be the photo in Leodis that you refer to https://www.leodis.net/viewimage/122171

The photo is dated 29/05/1944 so not taken during the Royal visit but it is still very interesting. In view of the comment that no trams are seen they definitely did run along Boar Lane and some turned onto Briggate. Perhaps for some reason they did not run on Boar Lane that day and came straight up Lower Briggate from the Swinegate tram depot Though I recall that trams were frequent it might still though have been a long wait to get onto one that day to Roundhay Park! ;)
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.

jma
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Re: Royal Visit to Leeds. 1949.

Post by jma »

Anybody like that Leodis poster who doubts that so many people went to Roundhay Park need only look at some of the Leodis pictures of events like Children's Day. Back in the day, trams and buses were the only way for most people to get there and Leeds City Transport put on special services. Eventually, a lot more people went by car but these were big events. I did special duty there a couple of times in 1975-76. On one of those occasions, Princess Margaret was there.

volvojack
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Re: Royal Visit to Leeds. 1949.

Post by volvojack »

There was also the " Printers Gala" which attracted possibly 80 to maybe 100.000 people and as jma says virtually all folks travelled by Tram Car or later Bus. very few people owned a car in the 1940s or even in the early 1950s. There was lots of entertainment, it was something different and also something that nearly every family had a school boy/girl involved in sports/games. Adults were catered for as the "Printers Gala" had virtually all Alf Cook's and E.J. Arnolds workers went. they were the largest two Printers in Leeds They had decorated Floats (lorries) with flowers and pretty girls plus music. they left the City Centre and set off to the Park. People turned out in the streets as they passed by. There was lots of entertainment and luckily in those days the weather usually was fine.
Children's Day was different in respect of that all schools in Leeds held competitions to find their best runners, jumpers etc. ready for the sports day.Quite hard to believe these days that they had "Sack Racing" ( 0ne boy plus sack) and Three legged races ( two boys with one leg each tied together) There also was the prize giving.The Highlight of the day was the Crowning of the May Queen, a girl who had been picked from one of the Leeds Schools. She was then Crowned but had four girls Ladies in waiting carrying the train behind her. So whether it was the Printers Gala or Children' s Day a good time was had by all.
I realise that to some younger folks would think those things are trite but the World has changed so much since those days and were very welcome 60/70 years or so ago.
.

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