School CCF Students Welcome the King and Queen of the Netherlands

Excited students were VIPs during the royal welcome of the King and Queen of the Netherlands to London

Five lucky students from St Dunstan’s College, London, were given the opportunity to witness close-up the gun salute to welcome the King and Queen of the Netherlands to London on Tuesday 23 October.

The students, who are part of St Dunstan’s College’s Combined Cadet Force (CCF), were invited to attend the gun salute at the Tower of London by former student Major Sam Hibbs, Officer Commanding III Squadron Honourable Artillery Company.

Charlotte, Callum, Gabriel, Sophie and Grace are all part of St Dunstan’s College’s CCF

After arriving early, Charlotte, Callum, Gabriel, Sophie and Grace got the chance to watch the pre salute inspection at the Honourable Artillery Company. They then travelled to the Tower of London as part of the police escort with the guns before watching close up the 42 gun salute to mark the start of the state visit. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands are staying in the United Kingdom for two days.

The basic salute is 21 rounds, fired at ten second intervals, but at the Tower extra are fired because it is a Royal Palace

The salute at the Tower of London is fired from four twenty-five pounder guns located on Tower Wharf facing the River Thames, by the Honourable Artillery Company at 1pm

Speaking about the day, St Dunstan’s Contingent Commander, Major R Davies said:

‘This was a fantastic opportunity for the cadets and I would like to thank Major Sam Hibbs for his kind invitation to the event. The students thoroughly enjoyed seeing the gun salute up close to welcome the King and Queen to London.’

The CCF is a national organisation for young people sponsored by the Ministry of Defence. The aim of it is to give students the opportunity to learn important skills such as leadership, self-reliance perseverance and loyalty. The CCF at St Dunstan’s College includes both Royal Navy and Army sections to give students knowledge about their roles in the Armed Forces.

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