A new TV in 1953 and times of change
Physically,Horsham was little changed from its inception to the late 19th century. Since then, it has expanded several times over, in its built- up area and population. Consider too the vast changes, both technical and social, which have occurred in that time. A technology and a shared experience came together in 1953. Television was a novel contraption then, clad in brown casing, bristling with valves and enclosing a tiny milky screen which could bring the wonders of the world into our homes. The Queen’s coronation was the high point of the year and thousands of households throughout Britain acquired a TV to view the spectacle. In the intimacy of every home, viewers were allowed a sight of the pageantry and splendour of an historic occasion, and in a manner none had ever seen before. The entire sequence of the event flowed across our flickering screens while we huddled together with neighbours and tea to marvel at this enchantment.
So much has changed and altered since then, not least in the vanishing of royal heads. Back in 1901, my great grandmother boasted she saw seven crowned heads at
the funeral cortege of Queen Victoria; today, there is hardly that number of monarchies worldwide. At the coronation of our Queen, it was uneasily felt that monarchy was a fading institution and perhaps even in Britain this might be close to the end of more than a millennium of royal succession.
Now, in 2022, the monarchy seems secure for some considerable time yet, due in no
small part to the entrenched place the Queen has built in all our affections. Over three quarters of the population still regard her with high approval, a rating she has held for seventy years. Ponder for a while on the sheer range of changes which have happened over those decades: the post-war austerity and rebuilding of the country in the 1940s and 1950s; the social upheavals of the pop 60s; the industrial action which meant industrial inaction in the 70s; the economic reformation of the 80s; the collapse of the Cold War world order in the 90s; the boom and crash in the noughties, followed by the rise of China to global prominence, and now another world order change with a pandemic and a war.
Throughout all this time the Queen has been a centre of continuity and reliability for all the nation. She has had to subtly alter the manner of her rule and adjust mentally, as we all have, to the shifting mores of an evolving society. Social change has gone in step with profound technological change. The Queen has shrewdly mastered both to maintain the affectionate loyalty of a diverse nation. We in Horsham have experienced many changes too, and our town is as much altered physically in those seventy years as its inhabitants’ outlook has changed. We must give due reflection as to how we can honour this Platinum Jubilee appropriately, respecting the centrality of our head of state, her serenity, and our gratitude for continuity in turbulent times.