1952. The Last Change of Monarch

1952 is a stand out year in the British calendar.

It was the year that Gene Kelly was happily ‘Singing in the Rain‘ while Jimmy Boyd had the unfortunate boyhood memory of seeing something he shouldn’t have. He penned the tune ‘I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus‘ afterwards!

It was also the year that over 4,000 Londoners died because of smog. Smog had descended inLondonfollowing the increase in population density, use of low-grade sulphurous variety of coal for home heating and the increased use of cars. In early December 1940, this ‘Pea Soup’ or a ‘Pea Souper’ was hanging aroundLondon. However a cold spell increased the use of coal to warm homes combined with unusual windless conditions which lead to the creation of large clouds above the city ofLondon.

It was a deadly combination. Visibility was reduced to a few yards; public transport didn’t operate. The fog and visibility was so bad that the ambulance service stopped functioning. Over 4,000 people died from respiratory tract infections in just 4 days. This was considered the worst environmental disaster in theUKand it lead to The Clean Air Act of 1956.

Meanwhile on the other side of the world, Mother Teresa opened up her first home for the dying and destitute in Calcutta. While in the US, following a Supreme Court upholding a New York state law, communist teachers are banned from teaching in public schools. Rocky Marciano thrilled audiences when he became the World Heavyweight Champion after knocking out Jersey Joe Walcott.

Back in theUK, King George VI who was suffering from ill-health passed away. After waving his daughter, Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip off on a five month trip of Africa,AustraliaandNew Zealand, he died a few days later. Upon hearing the news, Princess Elizabeth flew home. As she arrived back onUKsoil, the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill greeted the new Queen of England. She was 25 years old.

When she arrived back, she became Head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries including theUnited Kingdom,Canada,Australia,New Zealand,South Africa,PakistanandCeylon. She had her official coronation service in 1953.

In 2012, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is being celebrated all over the world. Her reign of 60 years is the second-longest for a British monarch. Her great, great grandmother Queen Victoria has reigned longer (just over 63 years).

In times of celebration, it’s often hard to know what to buy. Up and down the length and breadth of theUnited Kingdom, there are people celebrating Diamond Jubilees. It could be a marriage Diamond Jubilee or a work Diamond Jubilee, just like the queen herself.

A very popular way of celebrating that infamous year is to give a personalised gift. What better way to give a personalised gift is a personalised number plate. Personalised number plates are perfect for the person who has everything they need. Personalised number plates can display whatever you want it to say. It is a combination of numbers and letters which read a message that everyone can understand or a message that is private to you.

Personalised number plates are ideal to celebrate this important year. Some help when creating a personalised number plate for this year include:

ER 2 would make an excellent choice of registration for the Queen. If your name is Sarah and you were born in 1952, then an excellent choice of registration for you would be SAZ 1952.

Finally, like diamonds that are passed down through the family, personalised number plates can also be passed down to the generations. As personalised number plates aren’t assigned to a particular car but to an owner, ownership can transfer easily, allowing it to be an heirloom (as personalised number plates are an investment) or a simple memory.