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Irish Guards take over guard duties until Friday
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LONDON Wednesday: After two days of duty at Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace, soldiers of The Royal Gibraltar now have a day off before their next Guard Mount.
In today’s wet and windy parade they are described as the ‘Dismounting’ troops as they were handing over to the Irish Guards, who are described as the ‘Mounting’ troops. The RG will again take over from the Irish Guards on Friday for another two days of duty. So far, the parades have obviously gone wonderfully well and the soldiers are clearly very proud of their efforts.
As soon as the RG troops marched back into Wellington Barracks there were lots of tales being told – including several stories about girls who had done their very best to distract the soldiers whilst they were on sentry duty!
Private Carl Amor remembers the reaction of the Coldstream Guards when the RG first took over on Monday morning. ‘As we marched on, I looked at their faces and you could see that they were obviously impressed by us,’ said Carl.
On the Wednesday morning, almost at the end of his sentry duty, Private Dexter Panzavechia was just about to hand over to Private Bobby Green when a Palace policeman approached him. “There’s a member of the Royal Family just about to drive past you on his way out of the Palace,” said the policeman,’ said Dexter. ‘I quickly told the commander who ordered Private Green to ‘Present Arms’. Neither of us knew who it was in the car – we were too busy making sure that we got our drill spot-on!'
For Private Daniel Rodgers, it was an even more special day – it was his 21st birthday. There had been no opportunity for Daniel to speak to his family before the parade, ‘But I’ve had some “Happy Birthday” texts, including one from my wife, Karenza,’ said Daniel.
‘When we did the Mount on Monday, it was an incredible feeling – no words could express how I felt,’ added Daniel. ‘I was so proud for the Regiment I felt like crying. I could hear the St Anne’s children cheering and, out of the corner of my eye I could see someone waving a Gibraltar flag. I was a sentry during the Mount parade so I could see how good the lads’ drill was,’ added Daniel. ‘They were fantastic – I could see how all the rehearsing had paid off.’
With no duties tomorrow, Daniel and the rest of the soldiers will now head back to their temporary home at Woolwich where they will ensure that their uniforms are ready for Friday and then, for the first time in a while, they will get the chance to relax and to celebrate Daniel’s birthday.
But Daniel isn’t the only one with a 21st birthday. Over at the Tower of London, Private Jaydan Pozo spent a very non-alcoholic birthday on Tuesday carrying out periods of sentry duty by day and guarding the Crown Jewels at night.
‘I did the Buckingham Palace Guard Mount and then I came up to the Tower,’ said Jaydan. ‘We knew we had done well on the parade – you can tell when it’s going well.
‘When we got to the Tower we were given an operational briefing and then we prepared for the Tower’s Ceremony of the Keys which happens every night. But this morning I’ve been on sentry duty and I’ve been photographed by hundreds of tourists! When we have any free time we are encouraged to walk around the Tower but you can’t move for tourists who all want to have their pictures taken with you!’
Also at the Tower is 18 year-old Private Aiden Cooper, the youngest RG soldier on public duties. Having only finished his basic training in November of last year, Aiden is now on sentry duty at the Tower of London, where he is part of the team guarding the Crown Jewels. Not bad after only 6 months as a qualified soldier!
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