Navy ready to honour the fallen
SAILORS from across the Royal Navy have been carrying out final full dress parade rehearsals ahead of the national Remembrance Day commemorations.
The Royal Navy’s Ceremonial Guard put the final touches to its preparations at HMS Excellent in Portsmouth, Hampshire, ahead of taking part in the Royal Ceremonial Guard at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.
They will also be appearing at the Royal Albert Hall’s Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance and The Lord Mayor’s Show, in central London.
The sailors, who include representatives from across the ships and units of the Royal Navy as well as the Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the Queen Alexandra Royal Naval Nursing Service, have been training for three weeks for the service.
Leading Writer Jasmine Brent, of Commander Littoral Strike Group at RMB Stonehouse, Plymouth, said it was her first Remembrance Day service in her six-and-a-half years of service.
The 25-year-old said: “It’s always something I have wanted to do since I joined the Royal Navy back in 2015; it’s a great opportunity. It’s an absolute honour, I have family of my own who have previously served in the military, so I’ve got that sentimental, personal feel towards the parades.”
Warrant Officer First Class Eddie Wearing, state ceremonial training officer for the Royal Navy, said: “Initially, it’s getting them up to the correct standard of rifle drill and also they have the correct standard of uniform so they are both presentable and perform the absolute best rifle drill on the weekend.
“It’s the opportunity for us in the Royal Navy to have the honour and privilege to stand on Whitehall and remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.”