A former Worcestershire teacher said his life “changed forever” after attending the Queen’s coronation.
John Jones was the sole representative for the youth of Great Britain at the Queen’s coronation in 1953 and was selected whilst working as a secretary for the North Shropshire district youth committee.
He said: “My life after the coronation was changed forever, I look back on it now and I feel truly honoured that I was able to attend.”
Despite John receiving a letter in 1953 saying that he was selected to attend, he had no idea who put him forward or that he would be representing the youth of Great Britain.
John, , originally of Oswestry and now living in Salford Priors, said: “I still do not know for this day, and I do not think I will ever get the answer sadly of how I came to be invited.
“I thought I was going to be representing North Shropshire so you can imagine my surprise when it was for the entirety of Great Britain.”
John travelled to London the day before the coronation, staying with a family on the outskirts of London, whose son escorted him on the day.
John said: “We had to go through about 10 different security checkpoints and then we finally were led to a stand right by the doors of Westminster Abbey.
“I will never forget seeing the Queen of Tonga arrive in an amazing open-top carriage, despite there being a lot of rain on the day.
“There was a representative for every country in the commonwealth in attendance next to me and I had an amazing view inside the Abbey as the doors were open during the coronation.
"We listened to what was happening at the very front on a portable radio that somebody had in the stand.”
After the ceremony, John moved closer to the carriage where the procession began and was stood only a few feet away from where the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh was sat.
He said: “We returned to the family’s house and were describing what colours everything was on the carriage as they watched on their black and white television.
“We all headed back out later outside of Buckingham Palace where there was a lot of celebrating. I remember seeing a man serenading and professing his love to a lamp post with a drink in his hand which was a hilarious site amidst all the commotion.
“The Royals kept on coming out to see the people throughout the afternoon and made their final appearance just after midnight.”
After the day, he left his job on the railways and moved to Worcestershire, working at the Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern, where he later met the Queen during a visit.
John lived on Brookdale, in Harvington, between 1966 and 2012, and taught at Blackminster Senior School near Evesham between 1966 to 1992.
John, who recently celebrated turning 89, completed his teacher training at Worcestershire Training College.
He retired at 59 but continued supporting students with attendance issues at schools across the county for a further 14 years.
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