Page 154 - The Rifles Bugle Autumn 2019

LCpl Streetin warming up at Bayeux Cemetery
Rehearsing on our first day in Normandy
Band and Bugles performing our display on the grounds of Pegasus Bridge
IT WAS
IN THIS CALLOUS, DANGEROUS PLACE THAT OUR GOLDEN GENERATION OF BRAVE YOUNG MEN FOUGHT
Normandy June 2019 was a very different place compared to the Normandy of June 1944. It was in this callous, dangerous place that our golden gener- ation of brave young men fought on the beaches, through the mud and the blood to reach the green pastures anew. Protecting the weak, innocent and future. A momentous 75% of the British Forces were conscripted at this stage of the war, never the less they did their duty, with many of them consequently making the ultimate sacrifice... Truly giving their tomorrow for our today.
We started our tour with a long overnight ferry. Rehearsals started bright and early the following morning. Our role here was to set the scene musically for the veterans, members of the Royal Family, and Governments.
On Wednesday of that week, the Buglers had an even earlier start attending their Bugler`s Breakfast in the grounds of Pegasus Bridge, near the museum. This is what would have taken place those 75 years
ago. After their breakfast, Senior Bugle Major Topp gave a lesson on the traditions of bugling within The Rifles, with the bugle platoon performing various marches and calls. Later that day, we performed a marching display on the grounds of Pegasus Bridge. There were so many people watching and taking photos, and with The Rifles flag flying high on the bridge, it was a very proud and evocative moment.
Our day didn’t end there! At midnight, we marched across Pegasus Bridge with The Rifles Regiments, and later on they doubled across with the band playing in the background. The applause, as we concluded this dedicatory event, was immense.
All tired out, we got back to our beds in the early hours of Thursday, looking forward to our live broadcast on BBC1 from the cemetery at Bayeux the following day.
A few members of the band met a very friendly French gentleman at the cemetery in Bayeux. He greatly enjoyed telling us of his memories as a boy
Normandy Tour 2-7 June 2019
152 THE BAND AND BUGLES OF THE RIFLES
THE RIFLES