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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Jonathan Geddes

Lanarkshire scout leader's honour at volunteering as Queen lay in state

A Lanarkshire scout leader has spoken at his pride in helping the nation say farewell to the Queen.

Graeme Hamilton, who is the group scout leader of the 113th in Rutherglen's Burnside area, travelled to London to join over 120 scouts volunteering as the Queen lay in state at Westminster Hall.

The monarch was 96 when she passed away, and scores of people visited to see her lying in state before her funeral took place on Monday.

Among those assisting were 120 Scouts, aged 18 to 25, from across the UK, in tribute to the fact Her Majesty had served as the organisation's royal patron for many years.

Graeme was among a group of older Scouts who helped support the 120 selected to volunteer at the queue.

He told Lanarkshire Live : "It's part of history, but it's also about dedication, which is what the Queen was all about.

Graeme was among many scouts helping onsite (RGR)

"There were 120 scout leaders aged 18-25 chosen to take part, most of whom who have received the Queen's Scout honour.

"They were doing the heavy volunteering, while about 40 of us were there doing the behind the scenes work. I was there as welfare/pastoral support to help, because it was a huge operation.

"There were 40 Scouts in each shift working around the clock 24 hours a day, so on my shifts on Thursday and Saturday night I started at half 10 in the evening and carried on until half 7 in the morning.

"There were a lot of ways we tried to help.

"For example some people in the queue had brought food with them, but couldn't take it further when they reached Westminster Hall, so we started collecting anything that couldn't be used and were able to donate it to a foodbank.

"I think that's the power of the scouts, that you think on your feet and try to find solutions that can help people."

Graeme was often based at Victoria Park gardens, as the hordes queuing up to see the Queen made their way through the area.

Despite the amount of time many people had been waiting, Graeme felt the overall feeling was cheerful, with so many people simply wanting to pay their respects.

He added: "On the whole it's lovely. I think as volunteers we're all like glue helping it all stay together, whether that's caring or cajoling during the monotony of the waiting.

"It got colder as the week went on so by the weekend now we were helping out with blankets or getting people ready for the security checks.

"It was about being respectful given the circumstances but also having a cheeriness to keep people's spirits up.

For Graeme it was also a chance to pay his own respects.

He added: "The Scout promise had the line about doing duty to God and to the Queen, and that's obviously something that's been emphasised - doing duty to the Queen one last time."

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