The Union of SA Contingent to the Coronation of QE2
We are grateful to Dr Jim Findlay for this 16 sheet PDF display on 'The Union of South Africa Contingent to the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II", an event that took place in London on 3rd June 1953. The Union Contingent comprised 159 Union Defence Force and 20 SA Police members and was commanded by Brigadier S.A. Melville, OBE. It played a small part in a wider British imperial spectacle.
After the Nationalists came to power in 1949 South Africa's imperial relations with Britain and its military grew more strained until it pretty much collapsed entirely under the weight of the restitution of Republican rule in the 1960s and the implementation of full-blown, no holds barred Apartheid policy in SA. Up until then South African forces maintained close and comradely relations with British units, some of which is evidenced in this display. The SA Coronation Contingent was probably the last time that South African imperial troops were welcomed parading through London. You can see Jim's full PDF display by clicking here: View it here.
All the 'British' countries of southern Africa produced stamps to commemorate QE2's Coronation. Some samples are shown below. Missing is the Basutoland stamp which is a black and reddish-purple version of the three central stamps below, a design widely used in Brtish colonies. Also missing is the dull set of five SWA values issued on 2nd June, the day before the Coronation. They are arguably the least attractive of all the QE2 Coronation issued worldwide. Perhaps for that reason it is a good thing not to show them here. I like the South African design a lot but my absolute all-time favourite is the Southern Rhodesia 2/6d.
And here is the SWA 1d stamp from the Coronation issue of 2nd June 1953, one of the ugliest and most uninspired SWA stamps ever.
