Whitehall Parade in the 140th Anniversary Year

Over 200 Gordon’s School students, together with the school’s Pipes and Drums Band, marched the annual Parade along Whitehall on Saturday, for the start of the school’s Memorial Weekend.

This year marks the 140^th anniversary of General Gordon’s death in Sudan and the building of Gordon’s School as the National Memorial to the Victorian war hero and philanthropist. The school is the only one in the country permitted to march along this iconic London venue, an annual event carried out in remembrance of General Gordon. Annual remembrance events have taken place in some form since his death in 1885, but this year Whitehall was closed for both the Parade and a protest, with a heavy police presence.

The students, dressed in their ceremonial Blues uniform, marched to the Gordon Statue in Victoria Embankment Gardens for a short service conducted by the School Chaplain, the Reverend Graham Wright. Three wreaths were laid at the statue on behalf of students and staff and Gordonians. Tom Gordon laid a wreath on behalf of the Gordon family.

Bugler Jess Fowler sounded the Last Post and the Reveille, and The Lament, Flowers of the Forest was played by the Pipe Major Harry Gordon.

The Whitehall Parade on the Saturday, held in the month of General Gordon’s death, was followed the next day by the Gordon Memorial Service in Guildford Cathedral when the Bishop of Dorking the Right Reverend Paul Davies delivered the Gordon Sermon.

The Whitehall Parade also marked the start of the school’s Pipes and Drums 140^th commemorative tour of places associated with General Gordon. They headed straight from Whitehall to Westminster Abbey for a short service by the Gordon Memorial, before performing outside the main entrance. At St Paul’s Cathedral they visited the Gordon Monument and performed on the steps outside.

Gordon’s Headmaster Andrew Moss said: “We were honoured to be able to uphold our tradition, which is a much-anticipated event for the whole school. As the only school granted permission to march through Whitehall, once again our students represented Gordon’s School to the highest standard and showed true resilience under challenging circumstances, of which General Gordon himself would have been proud.

“We were honoured too, to be able to visit and perform at Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral and the following day, to hold the Gordon Memorial Service at Guildford Cathedral.

“Our thanks go to the City of Westminster for allowing us to continue our tradition, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Guildford Cathedral and the Metropolitan Police, together with the staff and students for their commitment and dedication.”