Proud day down in Weymouth

CWMBRAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY: Visit to Veteran's Day at Weymouth, June 10 - On a damp Cwmbran morning we set off promptly at 8am, and enjoyed a smooth journey to the coast.

We arrived, late morning, in bright sunshine and were just in time to catch the end of the Veteran's memorial service.

The streets were closed to traffic to allow the parade along the seafront, but one determined driver had sneaked through and parked, holding up the start of the parade.

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From the oldest veterans to the youngest Cadets, they all waited patiently in the hot sun, glad of the stations providing drinks of water along the ranks.

The obstacle finally removed, the parade set off to plentiful applause, medals and musical instruments flashing brilliantly in the sun.

Of all the conflicts represented, special mention was made of the Falklands veterans in this their 25th anniversary year.

This was followed by vintage wartime vehicles, from tanks to pedal cycles, both redoubtable British and glamorous American examples.

Characters ranged from "top brass", through Land Girls, down to a young boy in 'Fair Isle' pullover and shorts (my favourite!) The parade over, it was time for refreshments and we all went our separate ways for the afternoon. To borrow a phrase I heard this week "the shoppers shopped,the walkers walked and the sitters sat!", and of course, there was always the beautiful beach with it's diversions.

At the end of a lovely day the coach picked us up at 5pm and we returned, more slowly this time, to a rainy Cwmbran, well pleased with our day.

Thanks go to Dawn, our treasurer, for all her hard work, and we look forward to our next "£2 trip" to the Naval Dockyards at Portsmouth on July 15.

by Judy Phipps

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