Remembering when Prince Phillip visited Dudley

The first visit by the royal couple to Dudley was in April 1957 as part of a tour of Staffordshire and Worcestershire, covering eleven towns in the Midlands including Halesowen, Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Dudley, Brierley Hill, Stourbridge, Hagley, Kidderminster and Worcester.

The day included lunch at Dudley Town Hall, where they were greeted outside by five thousand school children and the mayor Councillor Danks.

Her majesty and the Duke of Ediburugh also took a tour of a Brierley Hill glassworks, an open topped drive through Stourbridge’s Mary Stevens Park and a visit to the famous forge of Walter Somers Ltd, where, among many operations, they witnessed the forging of great crankshafts for ocean-going vessels.

The couple were cheered by thousands of people along the route, with massive crowds at Priory Street in Dudley when they visited Dudley Council house.  

To mark her silver jubilee celebrations, the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh called back at Dudley in July 1977, welcomed again by thousands of well-wishers.

They were greeted by civic dignitaries including Dudley’s mayor Councillor Jim Taylor.

The couple visited Dudley Council House where they signed the visitors’ book and made the traditional appearance on the balcony to wave to cheering crowds in Coronation Gardens.

The Silver Jubilee tour of the Black Country is said to have been interrupted after the royal car broke down in Walsall and was repaired by two mechanics from a Rolls Royce garage in Sedgley.

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