The epic day when you met Her Majesty the Queen in Jarrow - and what a day it was for one 12-year-old
‘It was a thrill to meet her’
It was a historic day on South Tyneside and it happened 14 years ago this month when Her Majesty the Queen came to Jarrow.
Hundreds of people, young and old, turned out to greet The Queen when she arrived in Jarrow on her Diamond Jubilee tour.
More than 700 youngsters from Jarrow School, St Bede’s RC Primary, Dunn Street Primary and Jarrow Cross Primary School waited patiently for more than an hour, as rain threatened to spoil the VIP visit.
But the sun eventually broke through as the Queen arrived to loud cheers. The Queen was greeted by dozens of civic dignitaries, community leaders and transport officials who helped remove a decades-long traffic bottleneck with the creation of the £260m New Tyne Crossing.
Trevor Jackson, managing director of tunnel operators TT2, was the first to greet her, and helped her start a wheelchair race at the tunnel entrance.
The Queen also met community representatives Mary Finnigan and Ken Tyrell, who oversaw the four-year tunnel project on behalf of the people of Jarrow.
Mrs Finnigan, of Beverley Court, Jarrow, said: "It was amazing to meet the Queen. She asked about the Tyne Tunnel scheme and I told her it was wonderful to be involved. I was there when the Queen opened the first tunnel and it was a thrill to meet her."
The Queen was also introduced to safety-conscious arty schoolboy Christopher Howard, 12, of Pickering Court, Jarrow. The pupil at St Joseph’s RC Comprehensive School, Hebburn, was chosen to meet The Queen after winning a tunnel poster competition on a safety theme while at St Bede’s RC Primary School, just yards from the tunnel entrance.
Proud grandmother, Anna Howard, 77, of Ormonde Street, Jarrow, who was with her sister, Rosa Cape, 68, of Cleveland Court, Jarrow, said: "It was great seeing Christopher meet the Queen - we were very proud."
Retired Bill and Dorothy Marley, of the Cotswolds Estate, Boldon Colliery, joined spectators on the road bridge above the Jarrow tunnel entrance.
Mr Marley said: "It was a really historic occasion, and one we didn’t want to miss."
We would love to hear from you if you were one of the people who got to meet Her Majesty. Tell us more by emailing [email protected]