Gozo scout Lawrence Camilleri recalls his memorable visit to England to see the Coronation of the Queen 59 years ago... and reveals something else that caught his eye

Fifty-nine years ago, as a 15-year-old scout from Gozo, Lawrence Camilleri had the unique privilege of attending the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London as part of a Maltese contingent.

But, he admits, he missed bits of the procession, being distracted and more impressed by another sight as Her Majesty passed by...

A young couple was passionately kissing behind him, something young Lawrence had never seen before in 1953, let alone experienced. He could not take his eyes off them.

“I did catch a glimpse of the Queen but they most certainly did not! I must say, I had a good view!” he said.

Despite his interest in the royal family, the gesture of love was more intriguing to the innocent teenager.

“While my friends were chasing girls, I was still running around with priests at the time.

“In fact, when we were taken to visit a family during some free time on the trip, I remember blushing because I came face to face with their daughter, who was my age.”

They were different times...

Mr Camilleri, now 74, from Xagħra, was among three Gozitan scouts (two now dead) who embarked on a 10-day voyage to the UK to join others from all over to witness the coronation.

He travelled aboard a Royal Navy landing barge, LRSM Messina, which was also transporting four horses belonging to Lord Mountbatten.

The Camilleris were monarchists and the teenager had cultivated an interest in the Royal Navy also because his father used to buy The Times every day and cut out any connected images.

Had he lived in Malta, he might have joined the navy, Mr Camilleri said.

“The stormy seas of the Bay of Biscay were no big deal for me. While others got seasick, I was unaffected, having been used to crossing from Gozo to Malta about three times a year.”

Mr Camilleri was chosen to be taken on a three-day tour of London’s museums by a former prisoner of war who had been stationed in Malta and had heard of the Maltese contingent.

He has been chosen to attend the coronation with two other scouts from Xagħra through the drawing of lots by their parish priest.

But, despite his luck, Mr Camilleri did encounter resistance from his uncle – the head teacher at his school– who objected to him missing exams to travel abroad, and he paid a high price to see the Queen: he had to sit a supplementary afterwards.

It was back to harsh reality as soon as he returned and his brother met him in Mġarr with a fountain pen and a ruler so he could sit his Italian exam straight away.

Fifty-nine years later, Mr Camilleri recalls minute details of that experience – with a little help from the letters he had sent home back then – though he maintains he would not be able to say what happened to him yesterday.

Among his recollections is the fact that it had rained on the day of the coronation – just as it did last Sunday during the Thames Diamond Jubilee pageant.

“Our wet berets flopped down on our ears as we took up our positions in Parliament Square and waited from 6.30 a.m. to watch the Queen pass by at 3 p.m.”

Mr Camilleri applauded then-Prime Minister Ġorġ Borg Olivier and was also impressed by the Queen of Tonga, a very fat woman, who was accompanied by a very small man.

Were it not for health reasons, Mr Camilleri would have also attended the Diamond Jubilee celebrations over the past few days.

Instead, he relied on the BBC and watched what he could on TV, giving special attention to the flypast.