(who seems from the minutes to have been promoted to Brigadier by the time the show arrived!). A special separate leaflet was prepared with the title:
Beating of Retreat by the Corps of Drums of the
JUNIOR SOLDIERS COMPANY THE QUEEN’S REGIMENT
We learn from the leaflet that Drum Major Clark, who was leading the young drummers, was the longest serving Drum Major in the British Army. The leaflet also contains a list of the music played (see below) which showed remarkable flexibility, starting with a Marine Fanfare, through to ‘Donald where’s your trousers?’ and ‘Puppet on a String’ before ending with Soldiers of the Queen!
There was an interesting discussion at the Committee meeting later in the same year as to whether the Brigadier should be invited to become a Vice President. It was suggested that he might ‘add a little lustre’, perhaps not a great complement to those already on the list.
The Brigadier seems to have ignored or turned down the invitation.
We have no record of the location of Donald’s trousers.
This flashback has been possible as a result of work we are doing in cooperation with the Village Horti Society, describing their history since foundation in 1936.
