The staff at West Midlands Ambulance service that took part in the Queen's funeral parade

Four of the NHS staff went to London to play their part in the funeral

WMAS staff in London
Author: Ella StirlingPublished 20th Sep 2022
Last updated 21st Sep 2022

For four of the staff at the NHS West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS), it was a particularly special day. They took part in the parade that took her Majesty's coffin from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Gate as part of the Civilian Services Contingent.

Jo Withington from Shrewsbury, Mark Hayes from Lichfield, Adam Aston from Sandwell and Nikki Albutt from Brierley Hill are all members of the Trust’s Ceremonial Unit. They spent five days in London, practicing their ceremonial drill in the middle of the night, before taking their place as part of the State Funeral yesterday.

WMAS staff in parade

Speaking about his time in the parade, Adam Aston, said: “It has been an incredible honour to represent the entire NHS Ambulance workforce as part of the at the State funeral.”

Jo Withington added: “I have been to the Festival of Remembrance before and am a Reservist as well, but these last few days and yesterday in particular, are without question, the greatest honour of my life.”

WMAS staff training for the parade

Nikki Albutt said that they practiced for up to "eight hours a day for six days" but that it was a "phenomenal experience, so spectacular, yet so sombre; it is something I will treasure for the rest of my life."

And Mark Hayes added: “It was an absolute honour and privilege to represent not only WMAS but the NHS and pay our resects to Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II. I know I speak for all four of us when I say we did the absolute best we could to provide a truly British send off to Her Royal Highness."

As well as the four staff in the parade, Operations Manager Angela Hand and Tactical Incident Commander Tim Atherton from WMAS also played their part. They assisted the London Ambulance Service in helping the millions of people who were in the capital for the funeral.

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