Grocott's Mail
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Friday, July 18
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Grocott's Mail
    • NEWS
      • Courts & Crime
      • Features
      • Politics
      • People
      • Health & Well-being
    • SPORT
      • News
      • Results
      • Sports Diary
      • Club Contacts
      • Columns
      • Sport Galleries
      • Sport Videos
    • OPINION
      • Election Connection
      • Makana Voices
      • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
      • Newtown… Old Eyes
      • Incisive View
      • Your Say
    • CUE
      • Cue Archives
    • ARTSLIFE
      • Makana Sharp!
      • Visual Art
      • Literature
      • Food
      • Festivals
      • Community Arts
      • Going Places
    • OUR TOWN
      • What’s on
      • Spiritual
      • Emergency & Well-being
      • Covid-19
      • Safety
      • Civic
      • Municipality
      • Weather
      • Properties
        • Grahamstown Properties
      • Your Town, Our Town
    • OUTSIDE
      • Enviro News
      • Gardening
      • Farming
      • Science
      • Conservation
      • Motoring
      • Pets/Animals
    • ECONOMIX
      • Business News
      • Entrepreneurship
      • Personal Finance
    • EDUCATION
      • Education NEWS
      • Education OUR TOWN
      • Education INFO
    • EDITORIAL
    Grocott's Mail
    You are at:Home»OUR TOWN»When Lilibet came to town
    OUR TOWN

    When Lilibet came to town

    Rod AmnerBy Rod AmnerSeptember 11, 2022Updated:September 12, 2022No Comments4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The royal family are driven through Grahamstown in 1947. Photo: Royal Collection Trust

    By ROD AMNER

    The royal family toured South Africa from 17 February to 24 April 1947, including stopovers in Alicedale and Grahamstown.

    According to Graham Viney’s book The Last Hurrah: SA and the Last Royal Tour of 1947, they travelled 7 000 km, visited more than 400 cities, towns and stopovers, and spoke to 25 000 people.

    Field Marshall Jan Smuts met them aboard the HMS Vanguard battleship, and King George VI descended the gangplank to a 21-gun salute on Signal Hill. Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth, 20, and Princess Margaret, 16, followed, and they were taken directly to the 14-car White Train (the ‘Palace on Wheels’), their home for two months. Eight of the cars were specially made in England for the tour.

    The visit to Alicedale
    Princesses Margaret, 16, and Elizabeth, 20, (the future Queen Elizabeth II) on the footplate of the royal train on the way to Alicedale in 1947. Photo: supplied by John Bateson

    The train travelled to Alicedale station. In 2014, Alicedale resident John Bateson wrote to Queen, reminding her of her visit and enclosing a photograph.

    10 May 2014                                                                                      John Bateson
                                                                                                               Alicedale 6135
    South Africa

    Her Majesty The Queen
    Buckingham Palace
    London SW1A – 1AA

    Your Majesty,

    The Royal Tour of South Africa in 1947

    As one of your many loyal subjects, born in the UK but now resident in South Africa, I wish to offer you my most sincere admiration and congratulations on your long reign and add my heartfelt wishes for your continued health and happiness.

    As you will see from the above address Ma’am, we live in Alicedale, a small village in the beautiful Eastern Cape region of South Africa. Whilst researching our local history, to my surprise, I discovered various references and photographs gathered during the Royal Tour of South Africa in 1947.

    Several photographs show the Royal Train standing at the nearby Alicedale railway station (whilst the Royal Party were taken by road to visit Grahamstown) and include one of you, Ma’am, and Princess Margaret, on the footplate of the locomotive where you are operating the steam whistle.

    The gravel road, along which the Royal Party travelled to Grahamstown, is known by locals to this day as ‘The King’s Road’.

    Though I doubt your Majesty will remember that brief visit to Alicedale during the Royal Tour, the library of photos is a vivid reminder to me of the enduring history of The Royal Family and The Monarchy.

    Sincerely,
    John Bateson

    PS. I enclose a rather poor quality print of ‘the footplate’ photo.

    A Lady-in-Waiting in the Queen’s office acknowledged Bateson’s letter and said the Queen was “interested to hear of the discoveries you [Bateson] have enjoyed making as a result of looking into the local history of Alicedale, and thought it kind of you to enclose the copy of a photograph taken during the Royal Tour of South Africa in 1947”.

    A letter to Alicedale resident John Bateson, from the office of Queen Elizabeth II, acknowledging receipt of his letter in 2014.
    The royal train approaches Alicedale. Photo: supplied courtesy of John Bateson
    The royal family drives through High Street, Grahamstown, in 1947. In the back seat are Queen Elizabeth and her daughter, Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth II.
    Previous ArticleNo injuries as Settlers Hospital fire brought under control
    Next Article Troopers rally for narrow win over Barbarians
    Rod Amner
    • Website

    Comments are closed.

    Code of Ethics and Conduct
    GROCOTT’S SUBSCRIPTION
    RMR
    Listen to RMR


    Humans of Makhanda

    Humans of Makhanda

    Weather    |     About     |     Advertise     |     Subscribe     |     Contact     |     Support Grocott’s Mail

    © 2025 Maintained by School of Journalism & Media Studies.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.