The Coldstream Guards have been involved in various activities to honour the milestone including a summer parade through Berwick-upon-Tweed, a service of thanksgiving, presentation of new colours at Windsor Castle and Trooping the Colour.
Coldstreamer Col Toby Till said that although the regiment was steeped in tradition – such as its annual ‘hanging of the brick’ ceremony this month to honour heroic actions at the Battle of Waterloo – its people had become known as battlefield innovators who do not “wait to be told” how to modernise by the army.
“Our motto is ‘second-to-none’ – we pursue excellence,” he said.
Afghanistan vet Greg Dunnings (inset) left the regiment in 2014 and hit Soldier’s pages in October after smashing a Guinness world record for distance pulling a vehicle in 24 hours.
As well as standards and discipline, he said the regiment’s support of troops marked it out – especially in the wake of his battlefield injury on Op Herrick 11.
“If we’re honest, we all know we’re just a number,” he commented. “I am long gone from the army now and have had more years out than in.
“But there’s a saying ‘once a Coldstreamer, always a Coldstreamer’ and that’s really stood out for me – the care the lads showed when I got injured and the support ever since.
“This regiment made me realise what I am capable of, so that when I couldn’t do the things I wanted in the army anymore, instead of sitting back and getting resentful about it I decided to get out and do things elsewhere.
“If there is potential, the Coldstream Guards will unlock it and, if I’m honest, I still don’t think I’ve found my upper limits.”
