Parading for The Queen By Captain Will Chapman
The Adjutant General’s Corps Role in the Platinum Jubilee Parade
“In over a millennium of British Royalty, this has never happened before, and it is certain to never happen again in all of our lifetimes.”
T
he Guards Chapel in central London was silent during these words by General Officer Commanding London District, Major General Christopher Ghika, as the enormity and responsibility of what we had signed up for dawned on the audience. The task appeared simple, a marching detachment from the Corps would parade around London for the Platinum Jubilee Celebration as part of the select group of Regiments and Corps chosen due to their special relationship with the Queen. So, on a Sunday Morning, ten days ahead of the celebrations, twenty-six members of the Corps, from all areas of the AGC gathered, and readied themselves to begin intense ceremonial preparations.
The first challenge that presented itself was Number 1 Dress (Blues), Ceremonial Order. As most reading this will know, this is not an order of dress you pull-on very often. Getting married and parades such as the Jubilee constitute the main times when this is worn. Thus, the first days of preparation were characterised as much by trips to the tailors, as trips to the drill square. Buttons were sewn
on in haste and there was a great deal of fiddling with hats and other accoutrements in front of mirrors to ensure they fit well enough for a parade that was going to be watched by up to a billion people. The finding and sorting of kit was only able to be completed due to the superhuman efforts from the Worthy Down QMs department and Corps Sergeant Major but, once done, the AGC stood on the square looking every bit as smart (and in many cases smarter) than the regiments surrounding us.
Following these rehearsals began in earnest, first in Worthy Down, then in the Concentration Area, Brunswick Lines, Pirbright. Rehearsals were intense and many hours each day were spent marching up and down the square watched by the all-seeing eyes of the instructors from the Army School of Ceremonial Drill. Days fell into a steady pattern of early starts, drill, and kit preparation. Drill was rehearsed in all weathers and many nights the sound of the marching drum lingered in ears long-after the time on the square itself was done. The conditions in Brunswick
were spartan, food was centrally delivered to all personnel and there were only limited chances to slip out to a local supermarket or pub for some normality.
Foot care became critical during this time. Spending around eight hours a day in Drill Boots or burnt down shoes lead to the inevitable outbreak of blisters, and amongst the AGC contingent, there was genuinely great bravery shown in many areas to carry on through pain whilst marching the practice parade route. It became noticeable during this time how much we all wanted to complete the parade, with soldiers having to be talked out of occasional rehearsals for the sake of their feet, rather than having to be dragged onto the drill square.
The contingent distracted itself from some of the foot-sores by watching the Commonwealth contingents who arrived slowly over the course of the week’s rehearsals. Each one demonstrating its varied culture and military history with different outfits and marching styles, providing
The detachment, with Blues in order, on the parade square in Pirbright. 42 AGC JOURNAL 2022
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