Head of Operations Dean de la Mare and Paramedic Nick Peters will represent Guernsey’s St John Ambulance & Rescue Service at the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III in London on Saturday 6 May. Dean and Nick will be part of the Uniformed Civilian Services contingent which will line the streets for Whitehall section of the King’s procession which will travel between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.
Dean and Nick are both members of the ambulance service colour party and have represented St John at numerous ceremonial events and parades locally, including the Liberation Day church service and Remembrance Sunday.
Long serving volunteer Alan Stevens will represent the St John Ambulance Guernsey charity at the event in London. Alan has been a member of St John for more than 45 years having joined as a Cadet at the age of 12. Alan has been a member of the standard party for several years and also regularly takes part in ceremonial events in Guernsey.
Around 200 members of uniformed civilian services, including fire, police, coastguard, WRVS and prison service have been invited to take part in the celebrations and will be positioned five paces apart along the procession route. Members of the contingent will remain on parade during the Coronation itself, and will stay in place for the parade back to Buckingham Palace following the Coronation.
Dean de la Mare said: “It is a great honour to represent Guernsey’s ambulance service and be invited to take part in the King’s Coronation. There is a longstanding bond between the emergency services and the monarchy, and King Charles is also the Sovereign Head of the Order of St John.
A lot of logistical and operational planning goes into every ceremonial event and the King’s procession will be no exception. A high level of professionalism will be expected from everyone involved. We will be wearing our dress uniform and white gloves and there will be just a brief opportunity to rehearse the drill on the evening before the parade.”
Meanwhile in Guernsey, Paul Philips will represent the ambulance service at the Coronation parade which will assemble at Belvedere, Fort George on Saturday morning and march down the Val des Terres to the Model Yacht Pond. Volunteers Robin Gonard, Jacqueline Hancock and Tanya Goubert will form the colour party for the St John Ambulance charity for the Guernsey parade.
On Sunday Aimee Lihou, Head of Quality and Patient Safety, will represent the Ambulance & Rescue Service at the Coronation Church Service at the Town Church, St Peter Port.
Volunteers from the St John Ambulance charity will also be on duty providing first aid cover at a number of public events in Guernsey over the weekend, as well as Liberation Day events later in the week.
(Photo credit: Chris Jackson)