“On this day in history” Royal Navy ships assemble for Fleet Rview, 1953

On this day in history, 9 June 1953, Royal Navy ships assemble for the Coronation Fleet Review of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

“A part of the great assembly of warships taking form at Spithead in preparation for the Coronation Fleet Review.” (IWM A 32574)

Single-Handed a.k.a. Sailor of the King (1953)

Whoever uploaded this to YouTube claims 1952, but it’s definitely a 1953 flick.

The fil-um moves CS Forester’s story from the First World War to the Second World War and we have Hollywood’s Jeffrey Hunter as a Canadian.

But it’s a cracking piece of cinema from Roy Boulting. Incredible battle sequence from 25-minutes onward. Bernard Lee, Victor Maddern and Sam Kydd play their character roles with the humour and sangfroid expected from a black-and-white British war film. Well worth watching before YouTube delete it.