Page 9 - RSDG Year of 2023

south. And there we witnessed the most emotional moment of the day as Her late Majesty’s coffin was carefully lifted from the gun carriage and placed in a hearse to transit to Windsor Castle. It is a moment I shall never forget. The Master Gunner fainted and we only just prevented him cannoning into the Royal family standing before us, and real tears flowed as the tailgate of the hearse was closed. That was it, an era was over.
In May the following year we all gathered again. This time for a celebration and His Majesty King Charles’ Coronation. The format of the parade was different, but based on the same principles and yet again involved an ethereal night rehearsal. This time, having come for the rehearsal by train, I so clearly remember contingents of soldiers marching out of Waterloo Station and into the gloaming on their way to Wellington Barracks. The accompanying bands echoing across the Thames as I walked over to the MOD lent London an air perhaps last experienced when Her Majesty was crowned, or before that for the end of war celebrations in the mid 1940s. This time the Senior Officers Cohort were exempted from extended marching. Perhaps we had got it so badly wrong during the State Funeral, and perhaps the warmer weather threatened to knock out more of our elderly contingent.
So, we marched direct from Wellington Barracks to Buckingham Palace whilst the Coronation drew to a close
Armoured Corps Senior Officers – Night Rehearsal for Coronation Parade
in the Abbey, but we did so behind the combined Pipes and Drums, and so I personally felt I was in absolutely the right place. And who can forget those magnificent three cheers in Buckingham Place Gardens. What a privilege and honour for all of us to have lived and acted in such historic times.
This edition of our magazine contains much important information, but it is dedicated to the departure of our old Colonel-in-Chief and the welcoming of our new. We have yet to welcome him formally to the Regiment, but that moment will come. God save The King.
EAGLE AND CARBINE 7
The Regimental Contingent – Coronation Day