On the weekend of the 24, 25th November a total of fifty five past and present drummers came to the Drums Wing, part of the Army School of Ceremonial at Catterick Garrison from all over the UK. Thanks to an initiative by WOI (Senior Drum Major) Shaun Huggins, the endorsement of Captain Geoff Johnson and the active support of the Drums Wing staff and instructors, members of the Corps of Drums Society, HAC Drummers Association, Yorkshire Corps of Drums and the Guards Division Corps of Drums Association gathered with instruments in hand to make music, meet new and old friends and have some fun.
We spent the afternoon playing a wide range of drum and flute music from the parts and then marched and played our way to our overnight accommodation. We were then treated to an excellent Beating Retreat by the Corps of Drums of The 2nd Bn Royal Regiment of Fusiliers under the command of Drum Major Matt Foy, who was until recently an instructor at the Drums Wing, and then assembled in the Sergeant Mess for an excellent dinner with the principle guest being Colonel Peter Walton, Chairman of the Corps of Drums Society. After breakfast on Sunday we assembled for our final music session before saying our goodbyes and making the journey home.
The whole event was a huge success; A blend of thought, care, military planning, attention to detail but most of all friendship. A big thank you to Shaun and the team from us all for an outstanding weekend!