Page 33 - RSDG Year of 2022 CREST

EAGLE AND CARBINE 31
Recording Amazing Grace in the Great Hall to commemorate the 50th anniversary.
and tweak and a refocus for the other competitions with a fresh determination and a better understanding in how the competition circuit worked. June came and kicked off with phase 2 and the conclusion of Op PLATINUM and another move south again for the band to take its place in the Massed Pipes and Drums for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant playing a selection of ‘family favourites’ down the Mall in front of the majority of the Royal family and the huge appre- ciative crowds lining the full length of entire route including outside Wellington Barracks and along Whitehall. It all seems to blur together now and even at the time it was all happening very thick and fast as the Band hung up its full dress and packed its Hacking kit. Now undaunted by public crowds and conditioned to deliver quality music in a competition environment, the Band was moving from London to Northern Ireland for United Kingdom Pipe Band Championships. The memory of the British
The band parading with the massed pipes and drums on the funeral of the late Colonel-in-Chief.
Championships was still fresh and the renewed eagerness and hardwork of all paid off with 2nd place! We had now made an impact in the civilian pipe band scene. The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Pipes and Drums were being talked about and being viewed as serious challengers to other Grade 3B bands. The European Pipe Band Championships was quickly to follow in Inverness which coincided with Armed Forces Day... another strong performance and a great way to show off the Army in the public eye with taking 5th place! Finally summer leave came and the Band got the opportunity to relax and recharge its batteries after a busy couple of months, ready for the remaining competitions. Leave did just the trick as was clearly demonstrated with Band winning 1st place in the Scottish Pipe Band Championships in Dumbarton! Smiles all round and boozy after party but no time to rest on our laurels or get cocky. We were firing on all cylinders, all over the internet and the final competition
The mass bands marching down The Mall for the Queen’s Jubilee.