CFB Shilo soldiers get the royal treatment

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This article was published 20/07/2017 (3243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Maj. Jason Hudson found out he would lead a bunch of Canadian soldiers through public duties in the United Kingdom, he first researched what “public duties” are.

“I don’t think a whole lot of people knew what they were, to be honest,” Hudson said.

For the many who don’t know: public duties, in this case, involved guarding the official royal residences in the United Kingdom, including Buckingham Palace, St. James’ Palace, Windsor Castle and the Tower of London.

The honour — a prestigious month-long trip that ended in early July — was bestowed upon 83 troops from CFB Shilo’s 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

Recently, Maj. Hudson and Warrant Officer Clayton Nevell spoke to The Brandon Sun about the time London came calling.

Hudson explained once he realized the task ahead of them, he understood the great privilege it would be.

“We couldn’t wait to do this for the first time, and there was a huge sense of pride that we were selected out of however many units and soldiers from Canada to do this.”

They were invited on the trip by the Queen, for the purpose of Canada’s sesquicentennial.

Shilo’s soldiers trained for approximately four weeks on base, joined by the 35-piece Royal Canadian Artillery Band, based in Edmonton. Once in London, the invited guests practiced for another week.

The U.K. drill sergeants, invited to teach the Canadians for two weeks, “weren’t your stereotypical drill instructors, in your face,” Hudson said, but treated professionally the soldiers about to fly overseas.

Shilo’s troops, he added, were focused on mastering their sequences, while tailors, in the meantime, painstakingly put together their full dress uniforms, a scarlet tunic with grey headwear, the latter called pith helmets.

In London, the soldiers paraded in front of as many as 10,000 to 35,000 people.

They often didn’t notice the crowd, Hudson said.

“We knew the public was there, but we’re one person in a group of people marching down the road, looking at the back of the head of the person in front of you.”

Nevell, who has some English lineage, was part of a different unit during the trip, primarily focused on guarding the Windsor Castle.

Getting the moves down pat became second nature soon enough.

“It’s almost in the same aspect as we’d do with regular military training: get the muscle memory down and then when you’re actually doing the action, you don’t concern yourselves with the public.”

A couple moments stood out.

Once, Princess Charlotte walked by one of the private corporals at Windsor’s Castle and a surprised soldier, who didn’t expect a member of the royal family to greet him, had to stand still and couldn’t address her due to protocol.

And, on a particularly hot day, the Queen’s Pipe Major approached troops standing guard, telling them to get a drink of water and stand in the shade.

The soldiers stayed put, as they’ve been taught, Nevell said.

“He left, came back 20 minutes later, and he said, ‘No, the Queen orders you to stand in the shade and get some water,’” and so they did.

A honour for Nevell was being bearer party commander at the funeral of the regiment’s former colonel-in-chief Patricia Mountbatten.

In his role, Nevell called out commands to the pallbearers. He, and other 2PPCLI troops, assumed roles at the funeral since they happened to be in London at the time of the 93-year-old’s death.

Hudson didn’t hesitate when asked of his most memorable experience, which happened during the first mount.

“About 50 metres from walking through the gate at Buckingham Palace and the regimental song comes on,” he said. “I think everyone lifted their arms about an inch higher, chest up a little bit higher. There was a huge sense of regimental pride.”

Hudson wanted to commend all of Shilo’s soldiers for representing the regiment and Canada with honour.

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