Queen Mother’s two hours on ‘Your Beautiful Island’

Almost hidden behind the family group gathered on Lundy’s tiny landing beach on Sunday a small girl shuffled her feet and bobbed experimental curtsies. At the water’s edge stood a dominant, grey haired figure of Mr Albion Harman, owner of the island, watching roped being coiled on the landing stage. Lundy was ready to welcome Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, the first Royal visitor to the island.

Minutes before the Royal Yacht Britannia, in which the Queen Mother was returning home from her state visit to Northern Island, had dropped anchor in Lundy Roads, her gleaming deep blue hull reflecting the bow wave and her scarlet boot-topping just visible above the water-line.

But the question everyone on the island had been asking for days – ‘Will she land?’ – remained unanswered. Anxiously people waiting all over the island watched as a naval landing party came into the landing beach and returned to Britannia. Then, down from yacht’s davits dropped the Royal barge – the Queen Mother was coming ashore.

Between the small ships at anchor closer in, among them the Lundy Gannet, dressed overall by skipper Trevor Davey, sped the Royal barge and then the Queen Mother was stepping ashore helped by bearded islanders, shepherd and goatherd John Oglivie, his sheepdog Toss at his heels, and Vince Squire, the engineer, builder and boatman.

The Queen Mother, dressed in grey, was greeted by Mr Harman, who introduced his 10 years old son John, his two sisters, Mrs Ruth Harman Jones and Mrs Diana Keast, members of their families, and Mr F W Gade, agent on Lundy since 1926 and Mrs Gade.

A tractor-drawn trailer, driven by farm bailiff Bob Bendall, had been prepared but the Queen Mother chose to walk with the Harman family up the rough, twisting Beach Road to visit the church of St Helen at the ‘top’ of the island some 300 feed above sea level.

At the Church door she was met by the priest-in-charge, the Rev Royston Dixon, Vicar of Appledore, and by Mrs Audrey Smith, the church keeper and organist. The Queen Mother talked with Mr Bill Copp, of East View, Meddon Street, Bideford, who has been working on the roof of the church.

Smiling happily as she held firmly to a blue headscarf, the Queen Mother walked on to the Marisco stores where, from 17 year old June Smith, she pictured two postcards. On each she wrote a brief message before addressing one to Prince Charles and the other to Princess Anne. In the stores the Queen Mother also met Mrs Mary Squire, daughter of Mr and Mrs F W Gade, who was shopping there. On the bar counter of the Marisco Tavern the Queen Mother signed her name on an illuminated vellum scroll commemorating her visit and designed by the island’s artist, John Dyke, of Fairy Cross, who presented her with a set of current Lundy puffin stamps. All the names of the islanders are listed as well as those of people living on the mainland who serve the island, including Dr William Ruddock and Mr Maurice Ross, of Bideford, who were presented in the tavern together with other islanders and the principal keepers of the North and South Lighthouses.

Behind the counter stood barman Stanley Smith, who doubles as builder, and he told the Queen Mother how he met and married his wife on Lundy and later returned to the island when his children had begun growing up. With the youngest of the family, Wayland, the Queen Mother chatted about his schooling which is carried out by post. She also had a word with Lundy’s oldest inhabitant, 71 years old Frank Cannon, grandfather of the Smith children, and who is Lundy’s gardener and sharp-shooter.

All the islanders joined the Queen Mother in a picnic tea at Millcombe Gate in a sheltered valley in front of the island’s Manor house and she was introduced to the youngest islander, 10 months old Sarah, the daughter of chef Edward Wood and his waitress wife, Ann.

As she went back down the Beach Road, past Hangman’s Hill where the island’s blue and white flag stood out stiff in the wind, the Queen Mother was still smiling and chatting happily.

Mr Harman presented her with a basket of freshly caught fish and Lundy lobsters and with two baskets of herring gulls’ eggs which had been gathered from the cliffs by Miss Barbara Whitaker, the Lundy Field Society warden, and by Mrs Mary Squire.

As Britannia weighed anchor Lundy saluted the departure of her only Royal visitor with a barrage of rocket signals from Hangman’s Hill and of fog maroons from the South Light.

SIGNED SCROLL MEMENTO OF QUEEN MOTHER’S VISIT

The scroll is the work of Mr John Dyke, of Fairy Cross, the island’s artist, and in the side panels he has included drawings of some of the most notable features of Lundy. They include the Marisco Castle, Shutter Rock, St Helen’s Church, a view of the East coast, the South Light, Millcombe House, Constable Rock and the North Light, and the Old Light.

Lundy’s wild life is represented by drawings of a fulmar, razorbill, guillemot, puffin, kittiwake and oyster catcher, ponies, deer, goat and rabbit.

Articles dated 16 May 1958