THE Coronation of Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953, was undoubtedly one of the grandest public events in Britain since the war.

One of the thousands of servicemen taking part in the parade was Bryan Beever, a young musician with the RAF Regiment Band.

Now living in comfortable retirement in Colwall, Mr Beever clearly recalls the events of half a century ago, and his most enduring memory is of tiredness.

"I remember arriving back at RAF Catterick after Christmas leave to be told we would be taking part in the Coronation procession and we would be spending all available time amongst other duties practising marching.

"Henceforth, we were on the airfield every day, and to me it was the coldest place imaginable, even with many items of clothing under our uniforms, including pyjamas and PT shorts."

They practised for months, and three weeks before the Coronation were transported to RAF Uxbridge, where the rehearsals went on all day, every day.

A week before the Coronation, they were sent to London where they were billeted in Olympia, sleeping on straw mattresses, which were surprisingly comfortable.

"At last the big day came, and we marched from Olympia to our starting point. The service was relayed by loudspeaker and when the commentator announced that the Queen was crowned, the heavens opened and all our new uniforms were soaked.

"We completed the procession and marched back to Olympia still playing, a total of over 15 miles, and to march that distance and play an instrument was very exhausting.

"On arrival we were given a rum allocation and a well-deserved meal; most of us were too tired to go out and celebrate and had an early night."

In Malvern, Coronation day was celebrated with a "warmth of enthusiastic loyalty", according to the Gazette.

"The culmination of the rejoicings, which began early in the morning when the Priory bells pealed out gaily, was the lighting of the monster bonfire on top of the Beacon, to which many hundreds carrying torches had fought their way up through a wind of almost gale force.

"The bonfire blazed impressively and it was closely followed on neighbouring North Hill by a display of fireworks."

In Ledbury, they celebrated with the roasting of a 10.5-hundredweight Hereford heifer on a specially-built hearth near the Market House. Some 7,000 hot beef sandwiches were served.

Upton lived up to its royalist tradition with a fine display of decorations on shops and houses and a procession, but bad weather meant a river sports event had to be postponed.