Cenotaph March Past a pleasant surprise for RAF veteran from Devon
Dean Hinton served in the RAF for almost 25 years
Last updated 10th Nov 2024
An RAF veteran from Devon believes he'd never thought he'd ever be able to take part in the national service of Remembrance today.
Dean Hinton, from Exeter, joined the force in 1980 and served as an RAF policeman in Cambridgeshire, before training to become a dog handler and has travelled to different countries during almost 25 years in service.
"As an RAF policeman, I was responsible for property, individual safety, most of the time in the UK and overseas we were armed so it was quite a responsible thing and you had the dog to back you up," he said.
"We were looking after people and property, so when you're overseas, we were protecting different things that were on the ground, like aircraft."
'I probably won't do it again'
Dean - who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014 - is taking part in the March Past by the Cenotaph at the National Service of Remembrance in London today.
He's representing Help for Heroes in the capital, the first time he's taken part in a service like this.
"Because I'm going to be in a wheelchair, I honestly never thought I would be asked by anybody to do that; I'm very proud and thought I'd love to do it because these are things that maybe in a few years' time, I may not be able to do," Dean said.
"I think I've got to be very proud; I'm chuffed they asked me and I think I probably won't do it again, so this is my one chance to try."
Inspiring the next generation
Dean, 61, is one of several other armed forces veterans representing Help for Heroes in the March Past.
He hopes that events like today can also help inspire younger people to learn more about the value of Remembrance.
"To see us do this, maybe it will spark somebody's interest and they will ask the question 'why?'" Dean added.
"That's all we can hope to do is get people's interest up so they do ask the question.
"Remembrance is something from day one in the service, it's something that's always marked and we've always thought to ourselves 'we're following in our footsteps' and to be proud of that."