|
THE RIFLES WERE PLEASED TO BE
ASKED TO HELP PROMOTE THE LAUNCH OF A NEW BOOK
Saturday’s event was the culmination of
nearly a decade’s work by the book’s authors, to recount the stories of the men of Pirton who served and fell
in the Great War. So it was our duty to put on an event every bit as worth while. Although the early autumn weather conspired
to be as unpredictable as ever, visitors to the Pirton Recreation Ground were treated to our usual living history display,
plus demonstrations of gas hood drill, sword fencing and a small raid on an enemy position circa 1916 using 1897 Trench gun.
As the late afternoon
skies darkened with the threat of rain, the main ceremony of the day took place at the Pirton Village
Memorial. The Rifles marched off with a contingent from the Royal
Navy Sea Cadets; as we approached
the memorial, the skies conspired to open and rain fell on a Passchendaele scale. Not daunted, a very moving ceremony was
conducted in the presence of the Chelsea Pensioners, authors
of “The Pride of Pirton”, the Rifles’ President, and a hardy band of well wishers. Last post was sounded
and the bells of Pirton Church
tolled thirty times for the men who lost their lives in the Great War. A wreath was laid on behalf of the Rifles by Sgt Neville
RE.
To everyone’s
great pleasure, the organisers of the event were able to obtain the services of three Chelsea Pensioners,
Entering into the
into the spirit of the occasion, one pensioner found time to inspect the men
As the late afternoon
skies darkened with the threat of rain, the main ceremony of the day took place at the Pirton Village
Memorial. The Rifles marched off with a contingent from the Royal
Navy Sea Cadets; as we approached
the memorial, the skies conspired to open and rain fell on a Passchendaele scale. Not daunted, a very moving ceremony was
conducted in the presence of the Chelsea Pensioners, authors
of “The Pride of Pirton”, the Rifles’ President, and a hardy band of well wishers. Last post was sounded
and the bells of Pirton Church
tolled thirty times for the men who lost their lives in the Great War. A wreath was laid on behalf of the Rifles by Sgt Neville
RE.
At the ceremony’s end, the Rifles and
Royal Navy contingent marched back through the streets of Pirton to our camp, where we conducted the last ceremony of the
day “Sunset”
After packing our
camp away, the organisers laid on a fine slap up meal for honoured guests and re enactors alike. Books were bought and signed
by the authors, gallons of tea drunk and Cpl Barker paraded in his Home Service Greens. Rifleman Abbott once again laid on
an excellent show and tell display and everyone enjoyed a very successful end to a very successful day
|
