OTD in early British television: 6 May 1939
John Wyver writes: Saturday 6 May 1939 saw an exceptional morning broadcast from midday covering the departure from Waterloo of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, along with the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret (both only going as far as Portsmouth), on the state visit to Canada, the United States and Newfoundland. One of the BBC’s mobile control units was at Buckingham Palace for shots from 12.03 to 12.20 of the crowds gathered for the procession setting off. Broadcaster and painter Edward Halliday provided the commentary here.
The second unit was at Waterloo, where at 12.27 coverage of scenes on the platform picked up for another 20 minutes, with Freddie Grisewood commentating. In addition to the royal party, as can be seen above, dignitaries gathered to wave them off included Neville Chamberlain, Viscount Halifax, Sir Samuel Hoare and US ambassador Joseph Kennedy.
And while the group was on the way to the station, television cut back to the studio at Alexandra Palace for 7 minutes, where News Maps host (and radical socialist writer) J.F. Horrabin traced the route with the help of a map and photographs.
Loyal to the core, ‘The Scanner’ in Radio Times previewed the occasion with a kind of pre-war listicle:
The importance of the occasion speaks for itself, but I would like to add a footnote to the effect that His Majesty has appeared on the television screen nearly a dozen times—at his Coronation procession, Trooping the Colour, the Cenotaph ceremony (twice), the Cup Final (twice), the Derby, and the arrivals of King Carol and the French President at Victoria. The Queen was seen on all these occasions except Trooping the Colour.
The day after the broadcast, the Daily Telegraph described the pictures:
Television gave viewers the most intimate living portraits of the Royal family yet seen. It was a strikingly successful and memorable broadcast in which the two princesses were televised for the first time.
When transmission began, cameras outside Buckingham Palace gave a fleeting glimpse of the King and Queen. with the princesses as their carriage passed.
From the departure platform at Waterloo a further picture was particularly effective. At home I watched nearly every movement of the King and Queen in close-up. Once the camera caught Prince Elizabeth in a close-up in a serious study, quite unaware that she was being televised.
Other incidents which stood out conspicuously on the home screen were the King joking with Sir Thomas Inskip and his Majesty’s particularly warm handshake with Mr. Chamberlain.
As the Queen stepped into the tra1n she paused for a moment and half turned to make a final acknowledsment of the farewells.
The extraordinarily elaborate spectacle of the whole occasion, and the huge crowds, as well as the handshake and wave mentioned above, are caught well in this Gaumont British newsreel of the day. Do take a look – it’s an astonishing window on what was such a different world.
Leave a Reply