Hotshot photographer Dennis Ramsey's crowning glory 60 years ago
THE Queen isn't the only person looking back over the past 60 years with fond memories.
The Coronation presented the opportunity of a lifetime for one aspiring young photographer.
Aged just 18, Dennis Ramsey was given his first "on the street" job as a photographer for the Daily Express, charged with getting a different photo of the royal celebration.
Looking back on the day, the Horley resident says that, even after a career that included brushes with Maoist terrorists and numerous royal encounters, this first job stands out as one he can never forget.
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"It was an incredible atmosphere," the 78-year-old told the Mirror. "The crowds were great on the day, there was no aggravation, no pushing or shoving.
"I walked back to the Express office with my big camera bag and all the other guys were arriving at the same time and they were all claiming they had got the right picture."
Though none of his pictures made the paper the next day, Mr Ramsey has seen them used in magazines and papers since, after the paper sold them. Sadly he doesn't have the prints as keepsakes.
"In those days I didn't keep pictures," he said. "They were just another job."
But it was a job the grandfather of ten fought hard for. Having paid his dues in the darkroom developing pictures, he was assigned to senior photographer George Stroud on the day and was stationed on the first floor of Canada House in Trafalgar Square, sheltered from the rain.
"Our young Queen received such tremendous cheers and even the Queen of Tonga sat in an open carriage with a huge puddle of rainwater in her lap as she sat and waved to everyone," Mr Ramsey, of Parkway, said.
Throughout his two years at the Express and the next 47 years as a commercial photographer, Mr Ramsey photographed the royal family many times. By the time he retired in 2002 he was one of the preferred photographers at the four Royal Palaces.
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