THE CORONATION

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 186, 24 August 1937, Page 6

THE CORONATION

Napier Rot&rian Describes The Cefemony MARKED ENTHUS1ASM Although he stood on the pavement near the Marble Arcli for mpre than 10 hours, and was theii eaught in a rain-storm, Rota.iian ^ K. McLeay was completely satisfied with his view of the Coronation procession in London. In an address to the Napier Rotary. Club yesterday on the eeiebi-ations in London durilig Coronatioii Week, Mr MeLeay, who returned fecently from an eight UlOliths ' business trip to England, rernarked upon the great entliusiasm of every ukit of the huge crowd for their new Soveieign. "The High Commissioner's ofiicc stated that there were no seats avaliable for the Coronation, but, having obtained aceommodation, I was determined that nothing would prevent ma from seeing the pi'ocession, ' ' said Mr McLeay. ' ' Oh the inofning of tlie CorOhatioix brcakfast WUS on at the 'hotel from three o'Cloek in thu morning, and the terrifi© noise of Ihe crowda and ti'afUc' precluded aiiy pdssibility of gleep. I secured a positioU on the footpath Otttside Selfridge's, near tho Marble Arch. i stood there from 5.30 a.m. to 3.45 p.m., and did not stir moro than three feet either way all that time. . 10,000 People Fhiht. ''During the day 9,870 faintiug cases were .dealt with, and 30,000 police patreiled the streets. "As the day progressed the crowds wOre terrifiej hot air steamed upwaxds from the crowd; people fainted, and there Was difiiculty in getting them out. The crowd was most enthusiastic, and although the date had been set dOWn for the crOWning of Edward VIII., there was no diminution in the crowds and enthusiasm for his brotfier, ' 1 Queen Mary, who passed in the profiessiOtt with the Princesses, received a tumultuous ovation. To her was accordcd an exhibition of enthusiasm that was a'ecorded to no-one else but the King and Queen. All felt intense admiration for her beeause of the trying time She had expefieneed so bravely since the death of her husband.". Overseas Troops Impress. The Canadian, Indian, and Australian troops, the speaker considered, were a fine sight. The Indians especially, who seemed born to the pageantry, created * a great impressioii, While the Canadians and Australians were good. The New ZealanderS loOked fine, but wero not in such numbers as those of thc other Dominions. An invitation to attend the naval review at Spithead the following week was accorded Mr McLeay. He. was a gnest on a Channel steamer. hired for the oecasion. ' During tho review a small trawler cut through the small gap between the speaker 's vessel and the following one, just missing the stern, and headed for one of the warships, where the eailors gave her three hearfcy chcers. It was the notorious Girl Pat.

Itaiy Not There. At the review there were 160 Britisli warships and 16 foreign vessels, every nation being represented exeept Spain, wh'o was too busy with her own afiairs, and Italy, who did not see fit to attend. And yet' in the shipyards of Great Britain, 178 now warships were in the course of construction. Aiming for greater isoeurity, Britain was btxilding up her OWn naval strength to the thirdpower basis of tlio poriod from 1888" 1014. The-trying-out of the now German tanks and aeroplanes in the Spanish war had resuited in the knowledge that neither was of practi :al use in warfare. Germanv had thus been faced with the complete reorganisation of her army, with the waste of huge expenditure on urmaments.