Manx residents share memories of 1953 coronation

Ronald Malcolm watched the 1953 service on television in Pulrose

People on the Isle of Man have been sharing their memories of the late Queen's Coronation, ahead of the crowning of a new monarch.

More than 20 million people tuned in for the televised service in 1953.

Ronald Malcolm, 92, watched it with his family in Pulrose and recalls seeing Queen Elizabeth II entering Westminster Abbey and the procession.

He said: "It wasn't just any other day, or any other celebration, it was magic."

Mr Malcolm's family have never used the commemorative mug

He has also has a coronation mug, bearing the date, an image of the queen and the three legs of man symbol.

It is in pristine condition as it was kept on the top shelf in the kitchen in his family home and never used, he added.

Mr Malcolm has also kept newspaper cuttings, which tell stories of Manx flowers in the Queen's Coronation bouquet, fancy dress competitions at Lezayre, and children's donkey race in Braddan.

Vera Ferguson will watch the King be crowned with her family

Vera Ferguson, 93, watched the historic broadcast with her family in Yorkshire.

She remembers Queen Elizabeth II being crowned, her gilded coach and seeing King Charles III with his grandmother waving from a balcony as a little boy.

"I wouldn't have missed it," she added.

She said she will be watching the Coronation of the King, who holds the title Lord of Mann, with her daughter and grandson on Saturday.

Janet Southam watched some of the ceremony during a work break

Janet Southam, 90, was training to become a nurse in Leicester and was allowed a 15-minute break to see some of the ceremony on a "little television".

Although she could not go as she was working, Ms Southam said "the nation was excited" and there were tea parties "all down the street" with trestle tables lined up "one after another" near to the hospital.

"They had jam sandwiches to celebrate, which was a luxury at the time," she added.