Cadets from 594 (Thame) Squadron were honoured to be asked to participate in one of the sadder events of the year when they were invited to form a guard of honour at the funeral of Bee Gee Robin Gibb, a man who was also an active fund-raiser for the memorial dedicated to RAF Bomber Command in Green Park, London.
Under an intense global media spotlight, the team of 4 staff and 18 cadets, dressed in their smartest uniforms joined the cortege as it left Mr Gibbs’s house and marched down the High Street of Thame behind the glass sided four wheeled hearse. Having proceeded around the Town Hall and then back up the High Street the Air Cadet contingent then broke away and formed up as a guard of honour for the removal of the coffin.
Unsurprisingly the church was completely packed with a large number of celebrities including Leslie Phillips, Uri Geller, Peter Andre, Susan George and Mike Reid. As a result of this the staff and cadets retired to a marquee to rest until it was time for the bearers to bring the coffin back out of the church for burial. The Air Cadet team then proceeded to line the path to the grave whilst all the mourners passed.
Whilst there is no doubt that this was a very solemn day, the comments from a number of mourners showed that the cadets were all very well disciplined and very smart. Squadron Commander, Flight Lieutenant Mike Kidley said “I am extremely proud of all my personnel; they did extremely well and represented the Air Training Corps perfectly. Naturally, our thoughts go out to Mr Gibbs’s widow but I am pleased that we were able to fulfil her wishes and participate in this day.”
