It was a pleasure and indeed an honour to be supporting the Dartmouth RNLI at their Lifeboat Naming Ceremony on Saturday 20th May on a beautiful, sunny day in Dartmouth. The Band played a selection of marches before the ceremony started including Colonel Bogey, On the Quarter Deck and Viscount Nelson. Once all the guests were settled and had enjoyed a glass or two of Champagne, the ceremony began with the National Anthem. Commodore Jake Moores OBE DL RN, who is the Chair of the Dart Lifeboat Management Group offered a warm welcome to everyone and the service continued with blessings from the Vicar of Dartmouth, Reverend Dr Andrew Langley and the Chaplain of Britannia Royal Naval College. The Band accompanied the St Saviours Choir and the guests by playing two hymns ‘Eternal Father’ and the RNLI hymn ‘Will your Anchor Hold?’. On the completion of the ceremony the band launched appropriately into some Sea Shanties, the Trafalgar March and of course, Hearts of Oak. An overall spectacular and special day with a warm and welcoming atmosphere and even a cream tea to finish off!
