A Welshpool resident and organiser of the town’s annual 1940s Weekend said taking part in the 2024 London Remembrance Parade was “incredible”.
Alan Crowe, from Welshpool, was among the 10,000 people who marched in the annual Remembrance Parade in the capital on Sunday, November 10.
Mr Crowe was joined by a group marching in remembrance of the Entertainment National Service Association (ENSA) and called the event “the icing on the cake” to his decades of taking part in parades.
He said: “I’ve been taking part in remembrance parades for 58 years, with my first one being back when I was a seven-year-old Cub Scout. I can honestly say that taking part in this one was the icing on the cake. Nothing could surpass it.
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“The sheer volume of people was incredible. There were 10,000 in the parade and many more lining the streets to watch it go by. But despite how huge it is, the Royal British Legion have got it down to a fine art in terms of operation and running.”
ENSA was established in 1939 to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during the Second World War, with their presence in the 2024 parade being the first time they have been officially honoured as a group in remembrance according to Mr Crowe.
He was joined by actress Carol Drinkwater, whose father was part of the RAF Gang Shows, Susie Cliff from Cockermouth representing her mother who entertained the troops in Burma, and 94-year-old Alan Woolven, who at 14 years old worked for ENSA entertaining at Forces Bases on the South Coast of England.
READ MORE: Powys' Alan Crowe to march in London Remembrance Parade
Mr Crowe added: “It all goes back to just asking if there was any chance we could take part and represent ENSA. They agreed and so I recruited a few people with ENSA connections to take part. The gratitude we all felt for being given that chance is immeasurable.
“It was an emotional moment for all involved. It was good bonding as we all felt some similar connection to ENSA’s role in World War Two and were there to raise the profile and educate people.
“Since the parade I’ve already been contacted by a few people to say that they had relatives who were part of ENSA and wanted to find out more.”
The group has also been fundraising to create memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
Mr Crowe added that the memorial created by the British Ironworks at Oswestry and will be fabricated out of old brass musical instruments. Mr Crowe is accepting donations of instruments for the project, while financial donations can be made through their GoFundMe page.
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