South Yorkshire Times — Saturday, 2 January 1954
South Yorkshire Review of 1953
What the Moving Finger Wrote in Coronation Year
The Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will ensure 1953 of its place in history and must be the salient feature for any diarist. South Yorkshire’s celebrations matched those of the rest of the country—however delayed by the miserably wet weather of June 2nd, but it is an interesting reflection that we were to have days in December milder and more reminiscent of summer.
The death, earlier in the year, of Her Majesty Queen Mary, lent a sadder note to the year; in April there was a visit to Rotherham of Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret, and in September Her Majesty the Queen came to Doncaster to the St. Leger. Here, in brief, are jottings from South Yorkshire’s more “domestic” social and industrial news of 1953.
January
South Yorkshire had no national share in the 1953 New Year Honours. O.B.E.’s went to Mr. A. T. Thomson (Wath), Mr. A. R. Martin (Mexborough), M.B.E.’s to Mr. J. F. Booth (Hazelhead Hall), Mr. J. H. Polson (Penistone), Mr. A. Elson (Stocksbridge), Mr. E. J. Griffith (Swinton), Mr. J. F. Jones (Thurnscoe); and B.E.M.’s to Mr. B. Stephenson (Wath) and Coun. T. Bird (Wombwell).
Bright note from 1953 in Mexborough came in the report that there had been no fatal road accidents in the urban area during the year.
At Conisbrough, a pioneer scheme for communal hot water, one of the first ever operated in Britain, whereby 400 houses have received their supply from a central boiler house for nearly 30 years, came to an end.
A night temperature of 24 degrees was reported in Mexborough, on January 5th.
Coal Note: It was announced that the Yorkshire and East Midland (North Derbyshire and Notts) Division of the N.C.B. were the only divisions in Britain to make a profit in the third quarter of 1952.
And weather note: Sheffield had its driest year since 1945.
The last stages of prospecting for opencast coal were reached in respect of the West View, Scrooby Lane and Hesley Lane, Smith’s Wood sites, with a potential tonnage of 120,741 tons. A big steel plan to beat the ingot shortage and get the rolling mills and finish departments working fully was launched by the Rotherham firm of Steel, Peech and Tozer. The plant was expected to be completed by the end of 1956.
It was announced that a new scheme for enlargement and reorganisation of the Central Workshops at Manvers Main Colliery was halfway towards completion.
The Sunday Cinema issue cropped up again. By a big majority electors from the Rotherham Rural Area decided at an inquiry that they wanted Sunday Cinemas. Work on renovation of Hickleton Parish Church was nearing completion.
Col. W. St. Andrew Warde-Aldam was among 223 saved when a Dutch motor vessel sank off the East African coast.
The Hon. L. W. Joynson-Hicks, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Fuel and Power, toured the opencast mining sites in the Wentworth District and later visited Barnburgh. He said it was impossible in the near future to discontinue opencast mining in this area.
February
The first big step in completing the winding up of Manvers Main Collieries, Ltd., came in February with the sale by auction of Kilnhurst brickworks.
Housing note from Swinton: Almost one-fifth of the total population of Swinton and Kilnhurst were now living in houses and flats built by Swinton Urban Council since the war.
There was a considerable snowfall, notably in the Penistone district. Local people told of escapes in the East Coast flood disaster, for which local funds were quickly established.
March
Central Hall, Thurnscoe, was “on the air” for the first time.
The number of boys in the East and West Ridings entering mining after leaving school at Christmas was 670 or 11.5 per cent. of the total leavers in the regions.
School meals canteens were cut following a fall in numbers in view of price increases.
It was announced that the introduction of Coronation beer costing nearly 4s. 6d. a pint had caused such a rush that the first supplies in South Yorkshire were nearly exhausted.
The death of Her Majesty Queen Mary recalled her visit to South Yorkshire in 1912.
The Rotherham and Mexborough Hospitals Management Committee adopted a nursing cadet scheme for the three joint hospitals.
April
Princess Margaret visited Rotherham on April 16th, the occasion marking the town’s 50th anniversary as a County Borough.
For the first time in its 30 years’ history the Territorial Army F.A. challenge cup came to Yorkshire—won by the 467 Y and L HAA Regt. R.A. T.A. team.
Cricket got away to a brilliant start.
Many parts of South Yorkshire began to prepare for the Coronation in June—notably with street decorations.
May
Latest figures of estimated population showed Doncaster to be larger than Rotherham.
Col. S. Rhodes, Honorary Colonel of the 467th HAA Regt., Rotherham, was presented with a silver cigarette case to mark 50 years with the York and Lancaster Regt.
From Denaby and Cadeby Collieries came news of an announced scheme whereby the whole of the output would be wound at Cadeby and scheduled for completion by the end of 1957. Estimated cost of the scheme, which was expected to increase output by a quarter of a million tons a year, was £3,300,000.
A new Apostolic Church was opened in Wombwell.
A fight to combat the move to extend Mexborough’s electricity generating station was promised by certain residents of Mexborough’s East Ward. They were eventually to win certain concessions.
Only one Yorkshire Council game was completed on Whit Monday owing to a violent storm.
June
This was Coronation year and June was Coronation month. As a record for posterity June 2nd, Coronation Day, was miserably wet and most of the celebrations planned on an elaborate scale over so many months in South Yorkshire were either curtailed or postponed.
Many of them were continued on sunnier days later in the month, but a brilliant television broadcast made up for much disappointment on Coronation Day itself.
A Coronation cake made in Sheffield was too large to get through the door—but it was got through the window!
At Swinton, Ald. M. Creighton opened the new Fitzwilliam infants’ school.
Rush repairs were needed at Wath baths where water had begun seeping away through cracks caused, it was believed, by mining subsidence.
The miners’ annual rally was held in Doncaster.
Films of the Coronation were seen by thousands of schoolchildren throughout South Yorkshire, by old people at specially arranged performances, and by the general public.
Work was undertaken voluntarily on the tubular bells of Brampton Parish Church, which fell into disuse just before the 1939-45 war.