With the likes of escorted photographic visits they have these days to active stations surely it's not within the realm of feasibility to have the guests turn up on a coach and be escorted to the venue.
My heart goes out to you at this dreadful time and one can totally understand your frustration with it all with the stresses involved.
For what it's worth I returned to my last station having left the week prior to attend our Christmas do and had to be escorted on even though I was still on resettlement leave, though having handed in my ID card.