Joining forces

This year’s Medway Armed Forces Day is being held at the Great Lines Heritage Park in Gillingham. Veterans and serving personnel will kick off proceedings with a military parade, and there will also be a traditional drumhead service – a church service conducted “in the field”. Visitors can look at displays of historic military vehicles in the park, where there will also be a selection

of stalls and activities, live music and a fun fair. Arena events will be held throughout the day, including displays of sapper activities presented by the Royal School of Military Engineering. The event will come to a climax with a patriotic musical finale. Glenn Scarborough, chairman of the Medway branch of the Royal Engineers’ Association, said the day served as an important reunion and an opportunity to recruit members. He said: “All too often, associations like ours have this image of a lot of old people drinking beer and playing bingo. But with the conflicts in recent years, we have younger members. We have people ranging from the mid-20s to 90, and that has made us become stronger and more active as an association.”