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Sailors gather in Portsmouth for rehearsals ahead of Remembrance Sunday
6 November 2024
More than 100 men and women from across all branches of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines will travel to London this weekend for Remembrance events.
Ahead of two days of commemorations in the capital, personnel gathered in Portsmouth for their final rehearsal and to ensure they are ready to form part of the Ceremonial Guard.
Led by Warrant Officer 1 Glynn Moffat, 115 sailors will be on duty at Whitehall on Sunday and a smaller group will be on parade at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening for the Festival of Remembrance.
The Royal Navy contingent will include all branches of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service as well as 48 members of the Royal Marines Band Service, including 10 buglers.
This will be WO1 Moffat’s first National Service of Remembrance as the State Ceremonial Training Officer. Having first taken part 26 years ago, he understands how the Ceremonial Guard are feeling in the final stages of preparation.
He said: “Being in this position is the pinnacle of my navy career. I am a third generation Warrant Officer; my father and my grandfather were both RN Warrant Officers. There’s an element of representing my family.
“For those taking part in the parade, they understand what they are representing, not only for themselves and their family but also the individuals who came before them, who made the ultimate sacrifice, and the veterans who will march past on Sunday.
“That sense of occasion and the meaning of remembrance is instilled in everybody.”
That sense of occasion and the meaning of remembrance is instilled in everybody
Able Rate Lauren Hodkinson, an Aircraft Handler at RNAS Culdrose, will be on parade at the Cenotaph for the first time. Both her parents served in the military and always travel to London for the National Service of Remembrance.
She said: “This year my dad is marching with the Physical Training Instructors Association and will march past me and the Royal Navy contingent. When I found out I would be there on Sunday it was so special, and I know my mum and dad are proud.
“I won’t be able to wave or say hello but to know he will be marching past, and I will be stood paying my respects to him and everyone else is going to be very emotional.”
The National Service of Remembrance will be held on Sunday at the Cenotaph on Whitehall, London. Starting at 11am, the service will commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women involved in the two world wars and later conflicts.