A family tradition
Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 06:12PM I suppose if your grandfather, father and mother have all been in the army, it can be truly said to be a family tradition. Widen that a bit further and start counting the RAF contingent and you can add another grandfather and an uncle - chances of avoiding some kind of military service are now looking very slim!
So today was Tom's Pass-Out Parade. He has been in the TA since last April and today he became a fully fledged soldier - likely to go to Afghanistan (as we were told) and serving on an equal footing with regular soldiers. He has found the training hard at times but has loved it and felt sad today that this phase of his life is now ended. He has plans to continue his service - of course doing his TA work but hoping to get accepted as a potential officer at Sandhurst in the not too distant future.
For me it was a poignant moment. His is so like his father in his uniform. His build is the same and he moves like Dick did (although he looks more like me - poor chap!). I couldn't help thinking how proud his father would have been - and his grandfather - and for both my mum and I it was an emotional day.
We had lunch in the Dining Hall. Things have improved hugely since my days in the Army. The food is excellent and the barracks at Pirbright were a model of modern-day army living - not a Nissan hut in sight!
Tom is home now. Tired exhausted and happy. I am just a little daunted by the size of the laundry pile! But not my problem!!!!
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Lots of Love Sarah xxx