Guildford Torchlight Procession
Report by Cdr. Andrew Clarke NTCMany units at this time of year participate in various fireworks and torchlight events. The units of West Sussex South Region are no different. For the past decade, TS Implacable (Littlehampton) have lead the Guildford Lions Torchlight procession, and since 2006, Implacable have included their sister ships, to parade as the region’s combined massed marching bands.
This year, much like any other, started with a long drive from the coast up to Guildford. With TS Sturdy (Chichester) engaged elsewhere, TS Intrepid (Lancing) met with Implacable en route, just in time to assist one of Intrepid’s officers replace a flat tyre (it happened to be the car carrying all of Intrepid’s band gear, which had to be removed to get to the spare!).
At 1910, the 33 musicians from TS Implacable and Intrepid marched up the high street to the clock tower, playing the march from Longest Day. Once formed up, the audience were treated to performances by the individual bands, playing tunes from their recent Band Competition routines, including a Star Wars Medley, Sailing, Gibraltar (2nd Movement), and the Great Escape March.
The band then waited as the Mayor addressed the public, and the torches were lit. The band slowly became surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of torchbearers. Petty Officer Simon Nicholls of Implacable remarked at how it felt as though the heating had just been turned on. As members of the band looked back down the length of the high street, all they could see were flaming torches for as far as they could see.
With the torches lit, and the Guildford Town Mayor immediately behind the band, 1945 saw the West Sussex South Regional Mass Marching Band march off to Royal Salute (2nd Movement), leading what must have been well over 15 thousand torchbearers. 3/O James Copple of Implacable commented after, “all the cadets enjoy this parade. It’s fun, simple, and has great fireworks at the end.”
The band lead the massive parade for about 30 minutes to the nearby Stoke Park, where the Guildford Lions hold their Fireworks Extravaganza. As the band leave the well lit streets of Guildford, they cross the unlit park. The band’s instruments were wit with glowsticks, and some musicians had torches to help them see their music. “The hardest part of the march is crossing the field,” remarked 3/O Tyler Buckham, bandmaster of Intrepid. “The field is pitch black, covered with slippery mud, and I had to play my trumpet entirely from memory.”
At the end of the parade, the band’s played one more tune each, again from the recent competition. Intrepid lead their Doctor Who arrangement, whilst Implacable presented I Will Follow Him. Cdr Andy Clarke of Intrepid commented, “we have wonderful and enthusiastic musicians. When we played our individual tunes, many of us were scrambling around to see the other band’s music, so we could join in with each other – that’s real NTC spirit.”
The night ended with a spectacular 20 minute firework display, with an audience of thousands on Stoke Park watching. Cdr Brian Orchard, commanding officer of Intrepid joked that, “if they’d given us [Intrepid] the money they’d spent on those fireworks, we could afford several minibuses.” TS Intrepid, who got to Guildford in three cars, are currently raising £14 000 towards the cost of a minibus. To find out more about their appeal, go to www.ntc.org.uk/intrepid.
As always, the cadets and officers had a fantastic night at Guildford. They are already looking forward to leading next year’s parade.
