Mexborough and Swinton Times May 14, 1937
Coronation Celebrations
Only One Change
Children Sports Put Off
Something for Everyone
In spite of the miserable weather Conisborough and Denaby Main carried on with their carnival rejoicings. The rain at play havoc with the decorations and conditions, both overhead and underfoot, were appalling, but the good people Conisborough set out to make the best of a bad job, and succeeded remarkably well. They did not allow the weather to damp their ardour and apart from the cancellation of the school sports the programme ran according to plan.
Conisborough and Denaby Main are difficult towns to cater for at times like this, for both long and struggling. It is therefore not easy to create a massive effect and what decorations done must be individual. It is difficult to in other ways for if the celebrations take place in one part of the town many of the residents are deprived of the chance of seeing them if they live at another point of the town.
The Conisborough Celebration Committee realise the difficulties and worked hard and effectively to overcome them. The fancy dress parade was judging the centre of Denaby Main after proceeding through Conisborough, while the bonfire was built at the Conisborough end of the town and the commemoration service was held in Conisborough Parish Church.
With his even distribution of events between the two ends of the town the programme was carried through without a hitch, and the celebrations were of a high standard.
The old folk,, the children and the unemployed were all entertained to tea, and events such as the fancy dress parade and fireworks were calculated to satisfy townspeople of all ages.
The decoration of the memorial gardens at Denaby Main stood above everything else in the town, and the lighting of these gardens made one of the most effective sights in the district.
In spite of the rain on Tuesday night most of the streets were brightly decorated on Wednesday morning. Early in the morning householders were faced with a disheartening spectacle; paper garlands and flags which had been fresh a few hours before work often were completely washed away by the rain. The problem was soon sold; new decoration was soon bought and hung up. In a tour of the town one was constantly coming across signs of such determination.
Children’s services were held in the church and chapel on Wednesday morning, and later there was a service of commemoration in Canada Parish Church.
This service was attended by the Chairman of the council, Mr RJ Troughton and several other councillors, and was conducted by the Rev HT Eddie Shaw and the Rev PT Hutchinson (Methodist minister). Mass, celebrated by Father Seale Hayne was said at St Alban’s Catholic Church Denaby
The Procession
The procession of decorated tradesmen eternal outs, which included horse drawn vehicles and decorated cars, assembled in the afternoon in Welfare Ave, Conisborough, and moved through the town headed by the St John Ambulance Brigade Band, finally halting for judging by the memorial Park at Denaby Main. The results were:
Decorated Cycles:
One; Mr T Parkinson, Two; AG Taylor, Three; Lawrence Best
Every entrant in the decorated perambulator class received a prize. The first three were:
One; Mrs Farmer, Two; Mrs Keywood, Three; Mr Lynch
Tradesmen’s Turnouts (horse drawn)
One; Mr GW Clark (fruit), who obtain the maximum points; Two ; Mr A Beevers (Milk); Three; Mr GW Goodwin (Butcher) and Mr B Battersbee
Miss Clark received a special prize, being the only person to complete the tour in fancy dress.
The streets of Conisborough and Denaby were judged on Wednesday morning by Messrs D Sheldon, G H Smout, W Crowcroft and D Cowburn. They made the following awards:
Conisborough
- Athelstone Road, 2 Ivanhoe Road 3. North Cliff Road
Denaby
- Blyth Street, 2. Annerley Street, 3. Barnburgh Street
An extensive programme of children sports had been arranged to take place in the various fields in the afternoon and evening. The condition, however, were deemed too bad, and the sports were postponed indefinitely.
The children assembled in their respective schools for the Coronation celebration tea. This was preceded by the distribution by members of the Urban Council of the Coronation mugs, the Council’s gift to the children. Gifts to the value of 1s 6d were also distributed to the patients in the Fullerton Hospital and the children from the Conisborough area who attend the blind and deaf schools at Doncaster.
Superb Firework Display
the feature of the evening was a superb display of fireworks and a bonfire. It was surprising how many people braved the weather to watch the fireworks, and the hillside behind the children’s recreation ground was well packed.
While this was in progress, the local Scouts, headed by the Scout Band, formed a torchlight procession, and marched round the town to a huge bonfire which had been erected on the Crags.
The bonfire was lit, and burned for hours, this presenting a splendid sight which could be seen for miles around.
And so the day came to a close. The weather detractor considerably from everyone’s enjoyment, but no one allowed it to spoil the day for them entirely.
One must sympathise most with the members of the Celebration Committee, to whom this day had more significance than to anyone else. At first it seemed that the day would be a disaster, and it is to the credit of the committee that it turned out to be successful.