A ROYAL occasion gives everyone the chance for a knees-up, as we saw recently with the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

And in 1953, the good folk of Cutteslowe didn’t hesitate to organise a celebration when the date of the Queen’s Coronation was announced.

The community centre on the North Oxford estate was booked, an organising committee was formed, food and drink arranged and the party was soon in full swing.

This was one of many parties held in the county when the Queen was crowned at Westminster Abbey 58 years ago this week.

The Oxford Mail was full of reports and pictures of the celebrations.

However, there was no mention of the party at Cutteslowe.

The organisers either forgot to tell the paper it was happening, or it slipped through the net.

But this picture, sent in by reader Linda Perks and taken on the green outside the community centre, survives as a record of the event.

She has supplied names of many of those who attended this celebration – Bett Clarke, Violet Robins, John Potter, Dot Clarke, Eileen Webb, Heather Wharton, Robert Lyons, Peter Webb, Doreen Firkin, Susan Dipper, Keith Keenan, Gordon Ray ,Wendy Jones, Paul Bottoms, Tony Bottoms, Janet Neve, Beryl Ward, Kathleen Firkin, Buster Clarke, the Crutch family, Kate Rogers, Mrs Jones, Jill Smy, Jean Webb, Pat Saxton, the Pettifer boys, Heather Clarke, Gillian Hunt, Barry Hall, Jean Hall, Mary Denton, Marilyn Thomas, June Bottoms, Linda Webb, Brian Firkin, Dennis Firkin, Janet Moore, Yvonne Hunt and Carol Thomas.

  • A reunion of Cutteslowe residents at the time is being held at the Green Road Club in Kidlington on Saturday, September 17, at 2pm.

Anyone interested in attending the event should call Mrs Perks on 01865 451767 or send an email to mslkp@martinperks.com