Young people and leaders from 1st Belfairs, 1st Goodrington, 2nd Billericay, 1st Burnham, 1st Kingston, 1st Sutton, and 7th Brighton attended this amazing occasion and some of those in attendance have been in touch to let us know about their experiences…
Team Leader Carol from 1st Goodrington says, ‘Our young people had a fantastic day. The arrangements by the police were excellent, I shall write and thank them personally. All GB members present from the many different groups did Girls’ Brigade proud. Their behaviour was an excellent example to some other organisations present. Thank you once again for letting us go, our young people down here in Devon really appreciate the opportunity for things they only normally access by TV.’
Andrea, Team Leader from 1st Belfairs says, ‘On behalf of 1st Belfairs Girls’ Brigade, we would like to say thank you so much for our wonderful day at Trooping the Colour. We were really well looked after and the walking down the Mall at the end was the cherry on top!’
Team Leader Carolyn from 1st Sutton says, ‘Saturday 17th June saw 7 groups of GB members from across the country converging in the Youth Enclosure to enjoy watching and taking part in the inaugural HM The King’s Birthday Parade on Horse Guard Parade. All had arrived early to secure a good position and knowing there would be a long wait had brought food, drink, and something to do. The girls enjoyed watching as the soldiers, horses, and bands passed very close to our position to form up on the Parade ground and asked lots of questions about what they were seeing. They were very excited to see HM King and other members of the Royal Family arriving ready to review the troops and take the salute as Colonel in Chief. This year the Welsh Guards had the honour of trooping their colour and as always the marching, music, and spectacle of the parade was superb. The girls enjoyed watching the different aspects of the parade and were equally excited to watch the return procession cheering the King and his troops as they passed by us. We then joined the procession down The Mall to Buckingham Palace to see the Royal Family appear on the balcony and watch the flypast. We were lucky to have our own space directly in front of the Palace and an uninterrupted view of the balcony and also saw the flypast that was originally planned for the Coronation but had to be curtailed due to low cloud cover. All of the girls said how privileged they felt to be invited to represent GB and be part of this very special opportunity to witness the first Birthday Parade of our new King.’
Mollie, a member of 1st Belfairs, also got in touch to let us know how her day went. ‘On Saturday the 17th of June 2023, me, my Team Leader and 3 other Advanced Young Leaders from 1st Belfairs got the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of experiencing the King’s first trooping the colour. It was such a surreal day. We woke up at 4am, and made our way to St James Park where the first part of the parade began. We were lucky enough to be at the front of the youth enclosure being the closest group to the parade. We had amazing interactions with the Kings’ guards and police officers and even the police officers’ horses! We then watched the parade from just metres away. As the royal carriage came past led in by King Charles and Prince William, we were able to have a brief chat with Princess Catherine discussing her outfit and wishing the children well. (Louis found that very funny). When the horse guard parade had concluded after the colour-carrying and marching band parade it was time to lead the procession to Buckingham Palace. We were in the second row of the procession as police escorts made up the first row. The crowd cheered and clapped us as we walked down the mall. When we reached the palace we were again in the front row for the balcony view. The Buckingham Palace gates were open so our view of the balcony was incredible and the flyover was breathtaking. It truly was a magical day and we all felt so honoured and privileged to be there representing GB.’
