Page 32 - QARANC Vol 16 No 1 2018

30 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Remembrance
In November of last year, nine of my QA colleagues and I had the honour to represent the Corps at the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen.
Eight of us met at 22 Field Hospital before being expertly driven into London by Sgt Thompson-Bowers for our three night stay at Knightsbridge Barracks. It was an early start the next day and we met up with the remaining two for a short trip to Hyde Park Barracks for breakfast and a 0830 briefing before going into rehearsals. I can’t say that it is difficult to walk down steps in time without looking at where your feet are, but quite a few people found it very nerve-racking and some of them started to ‘tick tock’ once they reached the bottom of the steps which didn’t go down too well with the Drill Instructors and the GSM; but after a few attempts everyone got the hang of it before lunch and our onward transport to the Royal Albert Hall for afternoon rehearsals,
The BBC were already there and set up and because our ‘slot’ wasn’t until 1700 we could stay in the audience and watch the rehearsals. That afternoon we watched Emile Sande, Tom O’Dell and Mel C. We saw the video footage of what was going to be shown during the televised show on the Saturday night as well as the main stage performances and readings that were going to form the full performance. It gave us a great insight into the emotions that we would
be expecting to experience during our main performances on the Saturday.
2017 was also the 100th Anniversary of Women in the Armed Forces, so all the females from the ‘muster’ were required for this parade, together with women who had served in the Armed Forces from years gone by. A few more rehearsals to watch and then it was everyone’s turn to walk down the steps.
We already knew the order that we would go in so the muster could start on the command of the GSM. There was no band during this rehearsal, just piped music but it was still realistic. The Royal Navy were the first to form up, then the Army’s turn came. Our contingent came after the Royal Ghurkha Rifles and with Maj Pat Wilson and Capt Karen Cook leading from the front we got the nod from the GSM and proceeded down the stairs. Almost at the bottom there is a double spacing which throws you off and out of time a little but you soon get used to it, and after the third rehearsal it became second nature (well to me anyway) and it went without a glitch.
Once the time for the afternoon muster came, you could almost feel the tension and nervousness in the air. The females re-joined us having had an amazing experience on the women’s parade. Everyone seemed to be marching in their head. You could see them mouthing ‘left, right, left, right’ as though they had never marched before. Everyone was checking each other over; a few minor alterations to uniform; we were ready to go.
Nothing can prepare you for when you are standing at the top of those stairs waiting to march down into the Royal Albert Hall, in full uniform, with a full military band and an audience but hearts were racing and some legs were turning to jelly. The RGR went down and then Maj Wilson and Capt Cook took up the position at the top of the stairs waiting for the ‘quick march left right’ from the GSM. All 10 of us went down the stairs and into the arena without fault and made our way to the parade. A quick left or right turn and once in position we stood at attention for the next 40-45 minutes. Listening to the performances; trying to look at the TV screens in the hall; singing at the tops of our voices in preparation for the Last Post, the Poppy Fall and Reveille. It was in this two minutes of silence that it really hits you why you are there. You are flooded with a whole raft of emotions and memories of those whose lives have been lost though conflict over the years. I remembered two colleagues of mine who had fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan; there was not a dry eye in the house.
For the evening performance, the Royal Family were present. We still had the butterflies and the jelly legs. People were still mouthing ‘left right left right’ and practising walking down the stairs in the lobby area and we still stood at attention for 40-45 minutes. There was more pressure on this performance though, and as we about turned on the first note of the National Anthem, the Queen was standing in the Royal Box together with HRH The
The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance