24 Girlguiding Sussex West County members of The Senior Section and their Leaders, represented LaSER at the Cenotaph in London this November. Girls from Adur, Arun, Chichester, Bognor, Petworth and Worthing joined the Royal Family, thousands of Veterans, Armed Forces and other Youth Organisations to pay their respects.
The day started before dawn, as the coach drove through West Sussex to collect the Remembrance Day participants. By 10am, having proceeded through rigorous security checks, the group was assembled in Whitehall in readiness to parade.
Time elapsed quickly as the girls chatted with Veterans and fellow participants exchanging stories and experiences.
An eerie silence fell as the time approached 11am and Big Ben struck to mark the start of the two minutes silence. Although near the back of the parade, large screens provided a view of the service happening just a few metres down the road. Eagerly we watched the Royal Family and Dignitaries lay their wreaths and then applauded the Veterans as they began their journey to the Cenotaph. At 12.20pm The Senior Section joined the parade and the crowd applauded as we processed along. Concentrating on keeping in step and taking in the magnificent sight of the assembled Military and Bands, we processed with our eyes left passed the Cenotaph and the many already laid wreaths.
‘Representing Girlguiding at the Cenotaph was an amazing experience. Being in London, there was an intense atmosphere around the whole of the Remembrance ceremony. We all felt extremely proud to be part of it, amongst all the different people, veterans and groups. Saluting to Prince William was an honour (although some of us were slightly disappointed we didn't see Prince Harry!!) It was a once in a lifetime experience which I will never forget.’ Corinne from The Senior Section in Petworth.
