On This Day: 1953

The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey, London. 

The occasion was marked by colourful celebrations, with street parties and parades, and was the first British coronation to be fully televised. The event and its impact locally was captured by James Houston, a keen and skilful amateur film maker, based in Strabane in the 1940s and 1950s.

In his lifetime, he created a number of 'finished' works - filmed and produced under the moniker 'Cine Craft - which combine colourful footage with stills, art and delightful intertitles. Seen below, the coronation was the subject of one such film.

Opening with intertitles and still images depicting the coronation in London, we are then transported to Strabane, where a vibrant parade is taking place to mark and celebrate Elizabeth's accession to the throne.

A month later, the Queen came to Northern Ireland for the first time as monarch and is filmed here visiting Londonderry.