On the mild and pleasant morning of Sunday 13 Nov 22, 9 members of the Association met on Horseguards Parade to participate in the Remembrance Parade through Whitehall, with Tedd P managing to push through a nasty reaction to a Covid-19 jab to join us.
Suggested meet times and places were all invalidated by the various security measures in place but, somehow, we all managed to get there in plenty of time to congregate at our appointed spot on the parade ground.
Everything was very relaxed, with a terrific atmosphere of camaraderie and nostalgia (for tradition’s sake a Med Sec veteran shouted at us for no particular reason) and various war stories were suitably embellished to match the occasion. Moving onto Whitehall itself about 30 mins before the 2 mins silence gave plenty more time for tales of daring-do before the official events began.
Following the service and official wreath laying we “marched” past the Cenotaph under Moose’s command, trying desperately to stay in step despite the influence of the Med Sec contingent in front of us who looked more like they were auditioning for Strictly than parading!
Post-parade 8 of us (Moose departing to RV with Mrs Moxon) proceeded to a local hostelry for refreshment and a final opportunity to spin some yarns.
We all agreed we had a really great day and that we would like to repeat the experience in the future, we had laughed from start to finish (with the exclusion of 11:00 to 11:02). The admin and coordination on the day was very lightweight and free national train travel for veterans attending Remembrance celebrations had eased the financial impact for us.
Massive thanks to Andy Scott for organising this and for all his cat-herding efforts before, and on, the day.
I would encourage anyone thinking of attending next time to do so otherwise we will have to exaggerate the same old stories again!
Marc Salazar 14 Nov 22
Addition photos from Bob Hamilton
