One of my earliest memories is of the death of King George VIth (my earliest 'political' memory is the of the outbreak of the Korean War). Radio programmes were curtailed and the Radio Times came out in a restricted version, as I recall. Charlton played the next day at Derby County and drew 1-1 and there is no record of whether the players wore black armbands or whether there was a minute's silence. Leary scored what would have been a winning goal in the final minute, but after awarding it, the referee changed his mind after speaking to both linos and judged it offside.
The Coronation was, of course, after the end of the season. I still have my Coronation mug. The person opposite us in our road decorated his house with red, white and blue lamps which can't have been easy to buy in 1953 but was regarded as being OTT. Like many people, the Coronation was the first time I saw television, a ten inch black and white set at my aunt's house.
My uncle used copies of the Radio Times to make a patriotic display in his newsagents in Lakedale Road. In those days it was by far the top seller of any magazine, but he made a killing on the Coronation issue with many people buying extra copies as souvenirs or to send to relatives who had emigrated.
1953 also had a broader significance as it was the year when I started going to The Valley, although I am still not sure which was the first match I saw.
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