St. Mary of the Angels church was packed on the evening of 02 May 1937 to see the parish’s May Queen, nine-year-old Rita Kelly, crown the statue of Our Lady.
Born in March 1928, she was the eldest daughter of parishioners Joseph and Mary Stubley (her mother’s maiden name being Elders). She had attended St. Mary’s School since the age of five, and her sole hobby was reading.
The Kelly family lived on Bradford Road, and Mother Superior St. Chad of St. Mary’s Convent made the decision to appoint Rita to the coveted role just after Christmas 1936. Her parents kept the news a secret from their daughter, who had been a maid of honour in the May 1936 ceremony. Rita’s only ambition for the 1937 event was to retain that previous role. She certainly never expected any greater honour. When her mother broke the news, her reaction was disbelief – “Is it true Mother? Is it honestly and really true?”
That Sunday evening, lilies and spring flowers tastefully decorated the Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Sanctuary. The pageantry of streamered banners and the dresses of the girls of the Children of Mary and Guild of St. Agnes blended in the light of a May evening to make a colourful picture.
After the Rosary had been recited by Father O’Mahoney, and Father O’Sullivan had concluded his sermon, a procession made a circuit of the church and walked down the central aisle for the ceremony.
The Cross bearers and acolytes were followed by the Guild of St. Agnes, who walked behind a banner bearer, Willie Sunman. Next came the ex-queen, Miss Patricia Josephine Houston, her attendants and cushion bearer, four-year-old Tom Hughes, in a page’s suit of blue satin.
Behind him walked 30 little boys and members of the Children of Mary, dressed in white satin with blue sashes and led by a banner bearer, Mary Colleran. The banner was streamed by Kathleen Munns, Mary Hunt, Margaret Berry, and Nellie Breslin.
The central figure, little Rita Kelly as the May Queen, was dressed in an ankle length dress of ivory spotted net over blue taffeta silk. Her train was carried by Donald Haley, Joseph Lynch, John Senior and Bernard Waite. Her attendant maids of honour were Dorothy Levitt, Bernardette Senior, Lily Donegan, Mary Woodhead, Annie Wilson and Philomena Corley, dressed in blue corded silk gowns with frills, gold sashes looped in front, and blue silk flower coronets.
Thirty-five infants, dressed in white, followed the Queen and each carried a lily which was laid at the foot of the statue of Our Lady after the ceremony.
The procession halted at the foot of the Sanctuary steps and taking the crown from the cushion bearer the ex-queen, Miss Houston, handed it to Miss Kelly, who placed it on the brow of Our Lady. The children laid their lillie’s at the foot of the statue and the ceremony was brought to a close with the Benediction by Father O’Mahoney.
A record attendance included a large number of scholars and the ceremony, which reflected great credit on the teachers and coaches of the children, was directed by Father McBride.
If you have read any of the pieces I have written in the “In the Spotlight” section, you will frequently come across Rita’s name, as she was one of the leading lights in the St. Mary’s operatic circles. She went on to marry Joseph Wilson Stubley at St. Mary’s on 05 August 1950. If you lived in the Healey area of Batley you may remember them running the newsagents.
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