Local members of Marines band played at Duke’s funeral
THREE Guernsey musicians were honoured and humbled to be a part of the procession that played at the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
Colour Sergeant Matthew Bowditch, Lance Corporal Emily McClean and Colour Sergeant Nick West are all former pupils at The Guernsey Music Centre, and have family in the island.
As part of the Royal Marines Band Service, the trio were called in to provide some of the music at the ceremonial funeral of the Duke, who died on 9 April.
They played a number of marches in and on the grounds of Windsor Castle – Army and Marine, Soldiers of the Sea, and The Captain General. The latter was a fitting tribute to Prince Philip, who was Captain General of the Royal Marines for 64 years.
As with other senior members of the Royal Family, the Duke’s funeral has a codename after a bridge, his being Operation Forth Bridge.
It all went off without a hitch, despite lots of restrictions and protocols in place due to Covid-19, including spacing during the parade and a change to formations.
‘We played the slower music as the Royal Family came out on the Quadrangle and then marched up the hill, playing some more and playing the national anthem when The Queen came out,’ said trombonist CSgt West, 38, who is part of the RM Band Lympstone, which provides musical support to the Naval Service.
‘It was definitely an honour. We play Royal events a lot, like Royal weddings and the Cenotaph every year, but this is one that I will remember for a long time.’
LCpl McClean, 23, plays the French horn and is part of the RM Band Plymouth. The band members are fully trained operational military personnel who undertake a wide variety of ceremonial work of national importance, as well as fulfilling its main role of providing music for the ships and establishments of the Royal Navy.
She also said it was an honour.
‘We received a message about what was happening, and it asked me to be part of the 126-strong tri-service band, alongside the Band of the Scots Guards, the RAF Central Band, and that was how I found out,’ she said.
‘Prince Philip’s death was extremely sad news and it was a massive honour to be part of such a historic event to commemorate him.’
Overall there were about 500 musicians involved in the service in different sections.
For CSgt Bowditch, 32, who teaches at the Royal Marines School of Music, however, it was an 11th-hour call to step in for the Royal Marines Band Service.
‘I was a last-minute replacement,’ he said.
‘They started rehearsing on the Monday but I was only contacted on the Thursday to help out due to illness, but to have that opportunity to pay our respects in person on parade providing the music for the Duke was really humbling – it was very moving to be part of it.’
