Very Warm Welcome Home for Windsor troops Saturday 26th April 08

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thamesweb	Very Warm Welcome Home for Windsor troops Saturday 26th April 08	Lead	[-]
Posts: 990 (04/17/08 10:16:04) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The Royal Borough is to welcome home more than 500 Windsor soldiers who have been serving in Afghanistan at a special parade to be held next week. Troops from the 1st Battalion the Coldstream Guards, based at Victoria Barracks, will take part in a welcome home parade through the town on Saturday April 26. Mayor of the Royal Borough, Cllr Leo Walters - who first called for a parade to welcome home soldiers serving in Afghanistan last autumn - will take the salute at the Guildhall as men and women from the Coldstream Guards march past from their barracks in Victoria Street. The parade was given the official seal of approval in December following a unanimous vote by councillors. The Mayor will be joined at the Guildhall by General Sir Michael Rose, Colonel of the regiment, as well as councillors, past mayors and freemen of the borough as the parade passes at about 11.30am. Following the parade senior officers from the regiment will join the Mayor and councillors for a civic reception in the Guildhall. Led by the band of the Coldstream Guards, the parade will leave the barracks from the Sergeant's Mess Gate in Victoria Street at 11.15am and follow a route along Victoria Street, Charles Street, Goswell Road, Barry Avenue, River Street, Thames Street and High Street, returning through the front gates of the barracks in Sheet Street. The parade will take place after the usual guard change to minimise disruption to the town. Cllr Walters said this week: "I am naturally very proud that the council's desire to honour our brave troops is coming to fruition in such a fitting and memorable way. "I am also very honoured to be taking the salute together with General Sir Michael Rose to welcome back these troops who have been serving in Afghanistan. The Army plays a very large part in the community of the garrison town of Windsor and I am delighted that we are able to recognise the commitment and dedication of these young men and women who serve our country so proudly. "I would also like to pay tribute to the families of all our troops who provide such strong support during the regiment's tours of duty. The welcome home parade will undoubtedly be a very moving experience for them - and will give them a lasting memory of the esteem in which they are held." Last Edited By: thamesweb 04/26/08 03:32:00. Edited 2 times.
Pat Larkin		#1	[-]
Posts: 44 (04/17/08 10:43:06) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Will you be there thamesweb, to take some pics.....? or, might there be a video? My late Granddad Elliott was a bandsman in the Coldstreams, and he'd be very proud, I'm sure.
thamesweb	Video and pictures possible...	#2	[-]
Posts: 992 (04/17/08 10:45:18) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Usually on a Saturday I am involved with Concorde at Brooklands, but Delta Golf can wait until the afternoon!
Pat Larkin		#3	[-]
Posts: 45 (04/17/08 10:51:34) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Good for you, and even better for the Forum.......Brooklands is a fantastic place to visit, we went last year, well worth the entrance fee. We also visited Yeovilton in Somerset, (Fleet Air Arm Museum), they had a 'part' of Concorde there, we were able to walk into the fuselage(?), we hadn't realised how narrow it was.....but that's another story!!!!
thamesweb		#4	[-]
Posts: 995 (04/17/08 15:21:38) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Glad you enjoyed it. Was at Duxford again today checking out the second prototype Concorde there, G-AXDN. I've been involved in rebuilding G-BBDG (first pre-production Concorde) at Brooklands since 2004. Great fun, and made great friends in the process. We were washing her last week, and next week we will continue getting the flight simulator working again... Yeovilton is the home of the first British Concorde prototype. G-BSST.
Pat Larkin	Concorde	#5	[-]
Posts: 46 (04/18/08 01:58:35) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Must give you a lot of satisfaction being involved with such a magnificent piece of British air history. We watched 'The Final Touchdown' and were all very emotional. My 2nd cousin worked for many, many years on the maintenance of Concorde at Heathrow.....he was davastated when it all came to an end. He sent me the BA newspaper with a middle spreadsheet photo of 'The Final Touchdown', which I clipframed and put on the wall....we still can't believe it all happened....is there, do you think, the remotest chance of Concorde being recommissioned???? When we first left Windsor, we moved to Polegate, just outside Eastbourne. Next door was a wonderful gentleman called Mr. Rudolph Finke, he told us that he was a pilot in The Royal Flying Corps......his son, I believe, became an airline pilot, so the wheel turned full circle. My late brother-in-law, flew test flights for the Ministry of Aviation. He flew, (and I hope I get this right), Meteor Jets.....I nearly always say 'Migs', but once he reminded me that Migs weren't English!! He said he flew through 'Mach 1 and 2', that's fast, isn't it? I remember watching a film with him about WWI planes. In one particular scene, they were in a dogfight, and one of the planes 'Looped the loop', he pointed out that at that time, that particular plane would not have been capable of flying upside down, it would have stalled - you probably know far more than I do about this, but he knew his planes.....I clicked on the Royal Standard link, I watched the standard for a few seconds, then it was gone, thankyou for that brief glimpse......
exred		#6	[-]
Posts: 42 (04/19/08 22:57:42) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Good to see Windsor welcoming the troops back and I agree Pat some piccies on forum would be luvly jubbly
exred	Re Concorde	#7	[-]
Posts: 43 (04/19/08 23:09:16) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	My neighbour was for many years a BA flight engineer on Concorde and I quiz him regularly on various aspects of the marvel it was , he informs me the Olympus engines were first used by the Vulcan bomber ( and was it not good to see that fly the other day !! ) , I had the good fortune to visit the fleet hangar at Heathrow as part of fire service cross training in July 1995 and see close up the magic of it all , I also saw the testbed Concorde in it's long term frame being vibrated , another memory was the fuel dripping below the engines which i was assured was normal . A pic from that day ( excuse the expressions ) we were gobsmacked !
Pat Larkin	Concorde etc.	#8	[-]
Posts: 59 (04/20/08 04:20:02) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	You know, you were very privileged to have seen all that - we visit any aircraft museums that are local to our holiday destinations, (if that's grammar). As we go to Dorset every year, where my sister-in-law lives, it's always The Fleet Air Arm Museum for lunch.....it's handy coming back from Street, in Somerset, and we've only chosen one day when it's not been open..........but, we weren't disappointed, for there, right in view of our car, was a Harrier Jump-Jet going through it's paces. My brother was in the FAA for 13 years. He loved it. He was stationed, mostly, on aircraft carriers, H.M.S.Hermes and The Bulwark, and, of course, at Yeovilton in Somerset, and Culdrose in Cornwall......he went to Windsor Grammar school for boys, but left there early to join the service of his choice. I envied him so much enlisting in the Fleet Air Arm......he took some brilliant photos during his service days, from all over the world. Great shots of the Fleet Auxilliary ships, re-fuelling the carriers and so many pics. of planes, (Ganets etc.), landing and taking off from the flight deck......I, on the other hand, left school and went to Slough Tech. to learn secretarial skills - no comparison really, is there????? Keep finding those photos, exred, and put them on the Forum.......
exred		#9	[-]
Posts: 44 (04/20/08 06:53:45) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Pat such coincidences ! my uncle was FAA he enlisted 1947 and was at Yeovilton , Corsham HMS Royal Arthur , Ganges , RNAS Condor Arbroath , RAF Muharraq , Aden crater the list goes on . He spent his last days as a customs officer at Faslane checking out those naughty submariners & Coalport bound ships . One of my earliest memories was him putting me in a Hawker Hunter at an Air Day and i even have the pic of the day which i posted to the museum which now looks after the little beauty Air Day Pic . Re Slough i grew to like it after being stationed at Tuns Lane for 4 years belting up and down Farnham Rd or Bath Rd ...right thats it back in my box .
thamesweb		#10	[-]
Posts: 1004 (04/20/08 07:06:26) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I watched the standard for a few seconds, then it was gone... Well, yes, but I thought 10 seconds was enough... You can always play it again!
Pat Larkin	The Royal Standard	#11	[-]
Posts: 62 (04/20/08 21:17:11) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Thanks, thamesweb, I clicked on and watched the Royal Standard, then it was gone, but, what I meant was, it was a lovely moment, and enough, really, to keep this 'distant' Windsorian happy. I shall definitely be clicking on again and again, no fear of that.....I think it's great and don't remove it, well, not yet anyway...
Pat Larkin	Exred - Fleet Air Arm	#12	[-]
Posts: 63 (04/20/08 21:30:07) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Yes, that's a coincidence.....my brother enlisted, joined up whatever it was called then, in 1953, then worked for Rank at Denham til he retired. Photos and films were always his 'thing', he was taking black and white pics. on day-outings when at Grammar School and has some really great ones of planes taking off at Heathrown when it was called 'London Airport' - there's even a bit of a picket fence in once of them, that's how old they are! Planes and time flies, so I'd better go and check what else is on The Forum this morning.
thamesweb	London Airport pictures	#13	[-]
Posts: 1006 (04/21/08 01:09:07) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	There is quite a market for these pictures especially if they are high quality and it sounds they are.
thamesweb	1st Battalion Coldstream Guards - parade details	#14	[-]
Posts: 1021 (04/25/08 00:36:51) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards have recently returned from a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. The parade will leave the barracks at approximately 11.15am from the Sergeant's Mess Gate in Victoria Street. From there the route will be - Victoria Street, Charles Street, Goswell Road, Barry Avenue, River Street, Thames Street, High Street, Sheet Street, returning via the front gates of the barracks in Sheet Street at about 11.35am. The parade is taking place after the usual guard change to minimise disruption to the town. Anyone travelling to Windsor on Saturday should note the following restrictions: · Road closures will take place along the above route while the parade is in progress, with roads being reopened after the troops have passed by. · Use of loading and disabled parking bays in River Street and Thames Street (from its junction with River Street along High Street and down Sheet Street) will be suspended from 7am to 1pm. · Use of the taxi rank on Thames Street will be suspended from 11am to 11.45am. · Bus services will be delayed during the parade but should resume immediately afterwards - passengers should contact the relevant bus company for further details.
Pat Larkin	The Coldstream Guards' Parade	#15	[-]
Posts: 84 (04/26/08 01:04:48) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	As I can't be there, I'm going to see if I can find a web-cam that's on the route they're taking. I did this when Prince Charles was married, and on my previous laptop I could take stills, so let's hope The Castle Hotel have kept the webcams they had then.
thamesweb	Windsor Webcam	#16	[-]
Posts: 1026 (04/26/08 01:24:07) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Several webcams have been discontinued but this one, set up for the royal wedding, still has an image (after a moment or two). The view is of the Guildhall and Curfew Tower so would provide some images of the parade coming up the hill and into the High Street from River Street... IF it is a current view. It seems though to be an archive frame. My concern is that it was operated by STREAMDAYS and their own web pages state that the Windsor webcam is no longer operating. So I think it is defunct. I am off to the town now with my trusty video camera... Last Edited By: thamesweb 04/26/08 08:26:52. Edited 4 times.
Pat Larkin	Webcams, or, the lack of....	#17	[-]
Posts: 86 (04/26/08 01:50:28) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Thanks, as usual, thamesweb, yes, I've tried a variety of sites on Google. The one I used for the Royal Wedding at the Guildhall isn't working, nor are others I've tried. The Castle Hotel webcams are out-of-action too. Well, half-an-hour is long enough, so I'll wait for your video and pix. and I'm confident they'll be as good, if not better, than you always provide us with. I did read on the Windsor and Maidenhead Express site that the guardsman who lost a leg in action, will be at the front of the parade. My friend in Dedworth, who's going to watch, said she was told that the guardsman who rescued this particular soldier, will be pushing his wheelchair.
Pat Larkin	again, webcams...	#18	[-]
Posts: 87 (04/26/08 01:57:07) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I tried your link, but all I could see was the Guildhall and the second link there wasn't working, so I clicked on another link (on their page), chose Eastbourne, live, and there, ironically, was my own town's seafront, next to the TGWU building. Didn't like the skip full of black binliners though!!!! But, the sky is blue and the sun's shining....good weather for a parade in Windsor...
thamesweb	Very Warm Welcome for Troops	#19	[-]
Posts: 1027 (04/26/08 03:39:45) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	This morning I went up to the town, on a very warm and sunny day, to watch the parade. Herewith my report, video and pictures. The moment the troops emerged from Victoria Barracks in Victoria Street the crowds, and they were substantial, started clapping, cheering and waving. It was impressive. I filmed the parade from on high in the multi-storey car park, and after they had passed walked up to the Guildhall across Bachelors Acre and through the Castle Hotel Car Park. After a few minutes the parade arrived from its circuit down to the riverside and the warm welcome was renewed by an even bigger crowd. I am delighted that Windsorians, and those who had travelled into town to watch the parade, reacted so warmly towards the troops. It was a moving experience and I am glad I was there to witness it. View the MP4 video here The parade sets out from the Victoria Barracks to great cheers and applause, led in a wheelchair by Lance Corporal Wigans who lost a leg during his tour of duty in Afghanistan. View the MP4 video here That is probably my lot for today but if anyone has some pictures from elsewhere on the route I would be delighted to feature them here and subsequently on the RWWS proper. Last Edited By: thamesweb 04/26/08 07:13:07. Edited 13 times.
Pat Larkin	Parade of The Coldstream Guards in Windsor.	#20	[-]
Posts: 88 (04/26/08 07:04:21) More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Another batch of really good pictures, thamesweb, thankyou.....Fantastic, sunny weather too. You have captured the atmosphere very well and the crowd-shots show just how much the people appreciate and support the troops..what a parade, and I'm sure you were, as you said, glad to be there to witness it. Thankyou.