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Like the Queen, Peter was given a crown in 1953

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The 60th anniversary of the Coronation next month has prompted special memories for one Leicestershire man.

Pensioner Peter Wood, of Braunstone Town, was given a crown – five shillings before decimalisation in 1971 – as part of his first week's wages when he began his national service in June, 1953, to commemorate the event.

Widower Mr Wood, 77, has held on to the cherished coin, worth 25p in today's money, ever since.

Mr Wood, who joined the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) as an engineer, repairing and maintaining a fleet of ten-ton Bedford lorries, went on to serve in Dorset and Germany.

He said: "Everyone who enlisted in June was given a crown in their first week's wages. I was quite pleased, I liked the idea. I love the royals.

"It wasn't issued normally as part of your general wages, it was just for special occasions.

"It's about one and a half inches across and has the Queen on horseback on one side and the four symbols of the United Kingdom on the other.

"Written around the edge it has the words 'faith and truth I will bear unto you'.

"I've not had it valued, I don't want to get rid of it. I treasure it with happiness."

Mr Wood, who was a carer for his late wife, Sandra, who died, aged 69, three years ago, also met Princess Anne during a visit to the Carers of Leicester Support Project (Clasp) in the city in 2008.

He added: "We had tea with her and we were chatting about what we all did for our loved ones."

A third royal link is through the George Medal he was awarded for saving a comrade from drowning when the lorry they were in toppled from a bridge in Germany into a river, submerging the driving cab underwater.

Mr Wood, a father-of-two and grandfather of four, said: "I managed to get out but the driver was trapped and I dived back under the water.

"I couldn't see anything, but I grabbed a head and just pulled. We both bobbed up and lay on the canvas sides of the lorry waiting to be rescued.

"I remember the officers and sergeants standing on the bridge who were more interested in stopping the goods in the back of the lorry floating away!"

The George Medal, instituted in 1940 by the Queen's father, King George VI, is primarily a civilian award, but it may be awarded to military personnel for gallant conduct that is not in the face of the enemy.

Mr Wood said: "I'm not a royalist, but I do love the royal family. I'll be watching any coverage of events marking the 60th anniversary of the coronation."

A service marking the occasion will be held at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday, June 4, said a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman.

Like the Queen, Peter was given    a  crown   in 1953


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