MEMORIES OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II
A REMARKABLE 70-YEAR REIGN
*** The sad news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth brought forth a flood of memories and a deepening of appreciation for my British heritage.

*** My first memories of seeing Princess Elizabeth was via post WWII news reels in our local theatre. There were images of the young princess taking part in the British war effort -- involved in the maintenance and driving of military vehicles. Later there was news coverage of her marriage to Philip followed by the birth of Charles and Anne.
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/queen-elizabeth-ii-during-world-war-ii
I remember hearing news on our radio of the death of her father, George VI.

*** Following this, as part of a 1953 elementary school project, I created a huge scrapbook of clippings and photos celebrating her family life and the spectacular Coronation ceremony in which she was crowned Queen of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. . . including Canada. This giant scrapbook has survived and shares a favourite spot in my huge personal library. Also included is the Coronation souvenir spoon that was handed out to all Canadian school kids in recognition of the event.

*** I never had the honour of meeting Her Highness although we had seen her from afar during some of her many visits to Canada.

*** I did meet her sister Princess Margaret in 1958 when she landed at the RCAF base on Sea Island. I was attending summer Air Cadet camp there and we were chosen to be part of the colour party that met her royal aircraft upon landing.

*** Years later, Sue-On and I, along with fellow band member, Kerry Morris, were asked to perform welcoming music for Princess Anne's arrival at the Brandon train station. We then followed the entourage to Brandon's Experimental Farm -- Anne was an avid and award-winning equestrian -- where we set up to perform for the Princess and the gathered dignitaries. We have fond memories of sitting on the edge of our stage during music breaks to engage in long informal chats with the Princess. We jokingly mentioned that we had been to Buckingham Palace a number of times during breaks in our UK music tours -- but were disappointed that her mother had never invited us in for tea. Anne jokingly replied that her mum would have been at her summer home in Windsor Castle and that we should visit her there for tea during our next music tour :)
https://www.hillmanweb.com/royal.html

*** These events were the closest we got to royalty but we took great pleasure in following the Queen's appearances in the media. The last thrilling memory was seeing all the celebrations that surrounded her appearance during this year's 70 Year Platinum Jubilee. It was especially moving to see the fly past of the famous RAF WWII Memorial Flight of  Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft. This was the same flight that had flown in tribute over the 1945 crash site of my Uncle Bill's Lancaster when my Mom and I attended the recognition ceremonies as special invited guests back in 1999.
https://www.hillmanweb.com/rcaf/william/

The intense media coverage of the events across London and the UK following the Queen's death triggered so many memories of our five visits to the UK. . . three of them during our lengthy performing and album recording tours. Much of the media coverage dwelled on scenes of many of the sites we explored:
Buckingham Palace and the surrounding parks and monuments -- I took a series of photos of Sue-On in the adjacent St. James Park that we used as part of our record and media promotion. 
The Mall -- our son Robin was even a member of the Canadian high school band that had been invited to take part in a New Years Day parade performance down the Mall. 
Trafalgar Square with Nelson's Column and the Lions . . . we ate many snacks and fed pigeons while sitting on the low wall under the column.
Houses of Parliament
Westminster Abbey -- it wasn't nearly as decorative as is shown in videos of official functions - Coronation, funerals, etc. Workmen were sandblasting the exterior during one of our visits. 
Tower of Big Ben 
Tower of London
London and Tower Bridges
HMS Belfast permanently moored as a museum ship on the Thames. This ship had special meaning for us as it was part of the multi-national convoy that my dad's RCN ship HMCS Prince Robert was a part of. They sailed across the Pacific (Pearl Harbor, Australia, etc.) to Hong Kong to accept the Jap surrender and to rescue the Canadian POWs from the prison camp at North Point. Interestingly, just a few years later a very young Sue-On and her mom escaped from the family home in China to North Point to live with grandparents after the Communist Revolultion.
St. Paul's Cathedral
BBC Studios near London ~ My mom and I were invited for TV and radio interviews during our invitation from the RAF for the tributes to her Lancaster brother who died in the closing days of the war -- interviews made it to the BBC National News.

So many memories of places explored during breaks in our recording sessions and stage performances. . . most of the photos stored on slides that we have yet to transfer to hard drive formats. 

PHOTOS WILL FOLLOW

We were also inspired to go through the hundreds photos taken by my three uncles during wartime years spent there in their RCAF service (all three later were killed in action when their Lancaster and Halifax bombers were brought down.)
https://www.hillmanweb.com/war