1940s: Derbeians love royal visits

The Queen being shown round Repton School in 1957 by its former head, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Fisher

Carved high up on the facade of the Council House in Derby are the Roman numerals MCMXLI which, translated, read 1941. That was the year the building was originally scheduled to be finished.

But, like so many things, the outbreak of the Second World War, soon scuppered that. The work, in fact, was not completed until long after hostilities had ceased and it was on a sunny June day in 1949 that the 23-year-old Princess Elizabeth and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, paid their first visit to Derby to officially open the building.

The Princess wore a fashionable green and white checked taffeta dress with a full skirt for the occasion, with a bonnet-style hat in natural straw. The Duke looked bronzed following a trip to the Channel Islands.

The couple were met at Darley Park by the mayor and introduced to various civic dignitaries before being driven along Duffield Road into the town centre.

As ever, the day was crammed with activities. The Princess toured Royal Crown Derby’s china works while the Duke went to Rolls-Royce.

At Crown Derby, the Princess was given a christening mug for Prince Charles, who was just six months old, and then went on to join her husband at Royce’s where they both stood in contemplation before the new Battle of Britain memorial window.

At the Council House, the Princess was given a small gilt key to open the main doors and was greeted by the sight of huge banks of flowers in the main hall.

After tea at the Council House, the couple waved to the waiting crowds from the balcony before leaving for Allenton where the Princess laid the foundation stone for a war memorial village for disabled soldiers.

There she told those assembled: “In years to come, when my husband and I revisit the town, we shall look forward to finding at this place a flourishing community where the fallen are not forgotten and where the debt we owe to them is paid in service to the new generation.”

At 7.45pm the royal couple caught a train from Derby railway station for London and the visit was over.

No-one expected then that, within three years, that young Princess would be Queen following the sudden death of her father, aged just 56.

Eight years later, she paid her first visit to Derby as sovereign, arriving at Sudbury station at 10am on March 28, 1957. More than 22,000 Derby schoolchildren were given a half-day holiday to greet her.

Again accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, she visited various places in Burton-on-Trent and Tutbury before arriving for lunch at Repton School, where she was met by Dr Geoffrey Fisher, a former headmaster of the school and chairman of its governing body who, as Archbishop of Canterbury, had crowned her four years earlier.

On that occasion, the Queen inspected a Guard of Honour in Derby Market Place and paid a visit to The Leylands, woollen drapers cottage homes, at Broadway.

It was to be another 20 years before the Queen visited again – this time to bestow city status on Derby. The event coincided with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee so there was dual cause for celebration and the people of Derby turned out in force.

The Queen is welcomed to Derby by a young wellwisher in 1977

Around 60,000 people, queuing 10-deep in places, lined the streets in the early hours of July 28, 1977, waiting for the royal couple. Around the station, crowds occupied every vantage point – on the platform bridge, the booking hall entrance, leaning out of windows and standing on the top of buildings.

The Queen arrived by train at 10am and was welcomed by the Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire, Sir Ian Walker-Okeover. Also waiting on the platform were British Rail employees and 18 Brownies from Nottingham.

The first of many unofficial floral gifts was given to her by young sisters, Susanne, Michelle and Liza Jones, of Baker Street, Alvaston.

As they handed them over, the Queen apparently asked: “Have you picked these flowers out of your garden?”

And they replied: “No, they are out of Nana’s.”

Led by the regimental band of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, the royal couple were driven along a processional route to the Council House, where Mayor of Derby Councillor Jeffery Tillett conducted them up the stairs to the balcony, so that they could wave to the crowds.

Among those who had been camped out since 10pm the previous night to be sure of a good view of the Queen were Lucy Taylor, of Littleover, and Audrey Timmins, of Chellaston.

Then it was down to the serious business of receiving the Letters Patent from the Queen, declaring Derby a city.

After that, the royal couple went on a walkabout round Derby Market Place, where the band of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers helped create a carnival atmosphere.

From there, the Queen diverted from her planned route to call at The Leylands, of which she had become patron since her 1957 visit.

Just seven minutes late, she arrived at Butterley Hall to officially open Derbyshire Police Headquarters and chat to the 10,000-strong crowd who had been waiting patiently to greet her.

Youngsters waiting for the Queen during her 1992 visit

The Queen’s next visit to the area was in 1992 when she carried out a gruelling schedule, officially opening Carsington Reservoir, visiting Matlock, Wirksworth, Alton Manor and Derby.

In the city, she visited the DRI and met consultants who had treated victims of the Kegworth air crash. She also opened the newly-refurbished Queen’s Leisure Centre, where she was presented with a painting of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, visiting Derby in 1891.

In 1997, as recounted in the previous pages, the royal couple came to Derby to open Pride Park Stadium and, in 2002, they returned again as part of their golden jubilee tour.

Despite the heavy rain, it did not dampen the spirits of the 27,000-strong crowd awaiting Her Majesty’s arrival.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh spent the morning visiting Leicester before travelling to Pride Park Stadium.

There, they were greeted once more by a capacity crowd before being treated to a showcase of entertainment called Derbyshire Celebrates.

To mark the jubilee festivities, 18,440 gold balloons were released – one for each day of the Queen’s 50-year reign.

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