Claire Sadler
10th November 2023 at 10:08am
Watch: After seven years in post, the Royal Navy’s State Ceremonial Training Officer is stepping down.
Every year, hundreds of servicemen and women proudly march on Whitehall on Remembrance Sunday, remembering those who died while serving their country.
But the pomp, precision and professionalism on display must be rehearsed to the finest detail.
For seven years, Warrant Officer 1 Darren ‘Eddie’ Wearing has been in charge of training Royal Navy personnel for the big day at HMS Excellent in Portsmouth.
- Finding Remembrance week hard? There is support for you
- Free nationwide rail travel for veterans and serving personnel attending services of remembrance
- The Last Post and the vital role it plays during Remembrance
But this year’s ceremony, where WO1 Wearing will lead Royal Navy personnel on and off the Cenotaph, will be his last.
The Navy has been preparing for the occasion for the past three weeks, and WO1 Wearing said his emotions were mixed ahead of his final Remembrance Sunday.
“Obviously, it’s such an honour to be a part of Remembrance… and it’s an honour to have been in this role since 2015, but it’s very much mixed [emotions] at the moment,” he told Forces News.
“Obviously I’ve got a job to do, so I have to put my own emotions aside if I can, which is sometimes quite difficult, but I think my emotions are probably going to hit its peak on Sunday when I march off the Cenotaph for the very last time.”
WO1 Wearing said as the Royal Navy’s State Ceremonial Training Officer, Remembrance is “the one”.
“That is the bit where I feel honoured and privileged to be a part of Remembrance and that’s what it’s all about.”
But he said “having the honour and the privilege to conduct my final duty to Her Majesty the Queen” had been a highlight.
“I think nothing surpasses that, she was just such a role model to all of us in the Armed Forces, especially with us being the senior service, and I think it’s something that I’ll never forget,” WO1 Wearing said.
‘It’s time to move on’
Ahead of his final Remembrance Sunday in the role, he said the Navy personnel’s training had been exceptional, adding: “I’m sure they’ll put on an excellent parade on Sunday.
“I’ll be leading the Navy on to the Cenotaph and leading them back off at the end of the Remembrance parade.”
But he added: “It’s time to move on, it’s time to go and do other things and pass over the baton.”