Page 44 - The Light Dragoon 2024

The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
TXhXeXXmXaXrcXhXinXg party pace the forecourt of Wellington Barracks
Operation GOLDEN ORB
Under the watchful eye of our own rigid drill instructors, the Light Dragoons were put through their (30-inch) paces for a week on the square in Gaza Barracks. Fresh off the Kenyan bush and North Yorkshire plains alike, members of the Light Dragoons assembled in the name of His Majesty King Charles III’s coronation. Equipped with ironing boards underarm, the 27-soldier-and-three-officer-strong marching party, plus the Guidon party of four, headed to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Aldershot camp respectively for a fortnight of drill ‘boot camp’ (literally...).
The coronation saw all regiments from the British Army represented on parade; the largest military procession since Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral in 1965. The daily timetable was filled with kit
preparation, and sword and rifle drill refinement, before progressing onto marching a meticulously measured replica of the procession route itself. An overnight rehearsal in London reinforced the gravitas of our undertaking: the train ride in stiff blues, Big Ben guarding our route over Westminster, the art of standing still for almost 80 minutes on the Mall, forming up in Buckingham Palace gardens, before returning via Birdcage Walk.
6 May 23 itself arrived not long after and the Light Dragoons stood proudly on parade. With boots, buckles, and buttons as bulled as crown jewels, with swords and spurs slick enough to rival Penny Mordaunt, a handsome team of Light Dragoons in the ‘best-looking uniform on parade’ (anon., 2023) marched through the streets of our capital. Regimental pride was in
The Commanding Officer and Regimental Sergeant Major practise their smiles for awaiting fans
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