Armed Forces Day in Guildford
Guildford was this year's choice of town to be the focal point for Armed Forces Day, and as a veteran who marched (well, sort of) up the High Street and along to Stoke Park behind the bands, the military contingents and the cadets, I thought that it all worked out rather well.
Of special note was the endless enthusiasm shown by currently-serving military personnel from all the Services who manned the many 'sideshows' displaying equipment (helicopters, APCs, assault boats, etc) and recruiting stalls. The day was dry and fairly warm, yet the servicemen and women displayed bags of energy and seemingly didn't tire of welcoming mums, dads and eager offspring into their 'patch'. Most impressive!
On another note, I observed that there were many more service charities than I had realised existed, and I wonder just how difficult it will be to attract funding as the years roll on and the ever-dwindling numbers of service personnel result in a much lower profile in the eyes of the public. In the meantime, the needs of former members of the Royal Observer Corps, Falklands Veterans, Merchant Seamen, War Widows, etc and their families won't simply disappear and will continue to seek charitable support for a while yet.
This is where military presence at shows is so important, both to encourage recruitment and to raise the profile of military charities. Yesterday's displays of bands, motorcycles, horses, firepower, etc and the presence of high-profile individuals from the MoD plus, of course, two 'fly-bys' by the Red Arrows did much to impress the tens of thousands of those who attended. The Duke of York took the Review and DCDS provided a succinct but 'spot on' speech of welcome to start off the entertainment.
All in all, a very successful day.