Thursday 3rd December 2009

Hundreds of people lined the streets of Aldershot to cheer on the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards as they paraded through the town on Thursday.

The sight of 500 Officers and Guardsmen marching behind the Band of the Welsh Guards on their homecoming parade was greeted with loud cheers and applause.Not even the rain could dampen spirits as people beamed with pride and waved the flags to welcome home the Battalion following their six-month deployment in Afghanistan.

Following a memorial service to remember the seven soldiers killed serving with the battalion this year, their comrades marched down Hospital Hill before passing in front of Princes Hall. There, the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Dame Mary Fagan, took the salute before the troops continued onto Victoria Road, turned into Station Road and crossed the NAAFI roundabout in High Street to finish in Gun Hill Road.

To the visible delight of many soldiers, their children, pupils at Talavera County Infant and Junior schools, were waiting at the end of the parade to greet them. Holding handmade flags and banners, the youngsters screamed with delight when they saw their fathers march towards them, leaving the soldiers grinning despite their best efforts to remain straight-faced. The parade followed the visit on Tuesday 1st December 2009, of HRH Prince Charles, who handed medals to the soldiers and in a speech paid tribute to their professionalism and sacrifice.