Page 13 - The Gazette Autumn 2023

The Gazette QARANC Association 13
hours of the morning in central London with Phase 4 being the coronation itself.
Such a large operation with a magnitude of moving parts had potential for error. One of which saw the entire parade stuck in Buckingham Palace Gardens at 0300hrs as no one had opened the back gate. However, the humour and positive attitudes of the QAs never wavered.
Approximately 200 miles of drill were covered over a month period. Even the most ‘broken in’ shoes made some impressive blisters, copious amounts of zinc oxide, Compeed and mind over matter were the only solution.
The day itself was a 0230hrs start, catching the train privately booked for military personnel in full ceremonial dress was itself an experience. Waterloo station posed its own dangers as the ‘floors were made of marble’ absolutely no-one wanted to slip over with the hundreds of people in the station watching on. We formed into our contingents stepping off to the band, which sounded incredible as the music rebounded off the buildings. The crowds lined the
Such a large operation with a magnitude of moving parts had potential for error.