RHODESIA RAILWAYS MEMORABILIA

6 documents which describe in detail various aspects of this special visit, all in very good condition

1. Rhodesia Railways Limited. Transportation Department Special notice no 552: Visit to Rhodesia of Their Majesties the King and Queen and Royal Highnesses The Princess Elizabeth and the Princess Margaret. 27 pages, cardboard covers with blue cloth spine. Covers the local instructions relative to the method of dealing with the Pilot and Royal “Spare Stock'' trains. Z.J.M. stamped on the bottom right hand corner of the upper cover - Zacharias Johannes Maguire (See below)

2.Rhodesia Railways Limited: Working timetable and special instructions for the Pilot and Royal trains to run in connection with the visit to Rhodesia of Their Majesties the King and Queen and Royal Highnesses The Princess Elizabeth and the Princess Margaret. Working notice no 900 – details all movements of the trains. 27 pages, blue cloth boards with gold initials embossed in the bottom right corner – Z.J.M.

3. Time table for Royal Train April 6th - 16th 1947. [8 pages, map, illustrations, cream card wrappers with royal crest gilt on upper cover

4. Rhodesia Railways Ltd. Royal Tour 1947: Train and telephone guide. [8 pages] cream card wrappers. Lists telephone numbers for important contacts – railway staff, the press, and the royal entourage.

5. Photograph of the royal train mounted on a stiff card taken by Boris Art Studio in Bulawayo with a separate enlargement on paper showing the staff standing in front of the train.

6. An official badge for the Tour - dark blue enamel with the word Royal Tour across the top and Southern Rhodesia under the coat of arms in silver of the British South Africa Company with the motto Justice Freedom Commerce.

All these items belonged to Zacharius Johannes Maguire, who was the Carriage and Wagon Inspector for the Royal Tour. He is listed in several of these documents and is one of the staff members photographed in front of the royal train. He was born in 1893 in Worcester and moved to Rhodesia where he had various positions with the Rhodesia Railways. He was promoted to Inspector at the time of the Royal Tour and retired from this position in 1952.

In 1947 Rhodesia was visited by King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (the late Queen Mother) and the two Princesses, Elizabeth (the present Queen Elizabeth II) and the late Princess Margaret, as part of the Royal Tour of the Union of South Africa during February-April 1947.

It was the first overseas state visit since 1939 and the outbreak of World War II, and celebrated with much pomp and ceremony. The young Princess Elizabeth also celebrated her 21st birthday during the tour, with a radio message recorded in Cape Town, and which was celebrated by two grand balls, one in the City Hall and another at Government House. She also made her first solo public appearance at the opening of new docks in East London.

For their extensive tour South African Railways again provided a newly built 'White Train', which was made available for the Rhodesian section of the tour. The Garratt locomotives were painted royal blue. Extensive plans were made for the smooth running of the tour, from re-stocking and water, to post, radio and telegraph facilities, laundry and other matters.

The Royal Party flew from South Africa to Salisbury, where they travelled, by Royal Train, to Bulawayo. On 10 April the Royal Family passed in the special 'White Train' through various towns and arrived next day at the Victoria Falls, staying at the Victoria Falls Hotel, which was reserved entirely for their use. Preparations had involved a major refurbishment for the occasion. Repeated visits were made to the Falls during the next few days, which took the form of a welcome holiday.

The tour went according to programme, the only unrehearsed incident of note being at Matetsi where, on route to the Falls, the train stopped for water, the Royal party noted a small gathering at the station and decided spontaneously to alight. The stationmaster, Charlie Wise, at once stepped forward respectfully to greet the King and Queen and escorted them to the thrilled group of onlookers. Everywhere crowds had loyally and enthusiastically welcomed the royal visitors and this informal reception made a great impression.

On 11 April 1947, the day dubbed by the Livingstone Mail newspaper as the "most important day in the history of the town", King George VI set foot on the soil of the then British Protectorate of Northern Rhodesia in Livingstone, for an afternoon at least. http://www.tothevictoriafalls.com/vfpages/tourism/royalvisit.html