Veterans from Okehampton made a special pilgrimage to London for Remembrance Weekend 2024.
Fourteen members of Okehampton Armed Forces Veterans Breakfast Club and a representative from Helston AFVBC took the train to the capital on the Saturday morning.
Six veterans and two family members had tickets for the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on the Saturday evening (November 9), attended by the King and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
For the veterans from Okehampton, the most poignant part was the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
Breakfast club organiser Tim Wharton said: “A parade of current servicemen and women each laid a rose on the stage – 456 of them, with the 457th laid by the son of a serviceman killed in 2008 – a man known and respected by one of our own breakfast club members. There were many tissues and handkerchiefs in use during this most moving tribute.”
On Remembrance Sunday, the group joined 10,000 veterans to march to to the Cenotaph for the Service of Remembrance.
An 8.30am start did not faze the gallant Okehampton cohort, well used to the military ‘hurry up and wait’ approach to any big event.
They passed the time waiting on Horse Guards Parade catching up with old comrades, hearing other marchers’ stories and having pictures taken with some Chelsea Pensioners and with soldier Johnson Beharry, awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery serving in Iraq in 2004.
Then came the march on to Whitehall, to cheers and applause from spectators.
The two-minute silence at 11am and Last Post was followed by the laying of wreaths by the King and other senior royals, then the remaining domestic and foreign dignitaries, before the Okehampton group joined other veterans to march past the Cenotaph.
Tim said: “We stepped off smartly, our small contingent marching as proudly as we had done whilst we were serving. Starting on the left-hand side of Whitehall required a right, followed by a left wheel to bring us to the correct side of the Cenotaph. There was a noticeable straightening of backs, a crisper swing of the arms as the Cenotaph was saluted and wreathes passed over to the attendants to be placed amongst the multitude already laid. Eyes to the front again, we continued towards Parliament Square, before turning right and right again on to Horse Guards Road.
“Approaching Horse Guards Parade, the saluting dais came in to view, where none other that the Prince of Wales was taking the salute. Throwing aside any feelings of fatigue, once again, backs became ramrod straight as a crisp salute and an “eyes right” paid our compliments to His Royal Highness.”
The Okehampton group made the return trip home from Paddington later that day in high spirits. “Train cancellations made the journey somewhat more arduous than it might have been but the excitement and enjoyment of the whole weekend kept us going until we wall got home, where we finally collapsed into bed, wondering whether we should do it all again next year!”
