A Nottingham mother has spoken of her pride at her son's involvement in the Queen's state funeral on Monday, September 19. Luke Taylor from Mapperley was one of four men from Nottingham who took part in the ceremony as he marched with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
Rosie Taylor said she felt 'really proud' of her son as she watched him take part. Luke appeared on television in several broadcasts of the ceremony around the world. She highlighted that this was a particularly poignant moment watching her son take part due to family history as both sides of Luke's family have served in the military.
"It was great that he was picked as he was only one in twenty-five that were chosen. He is in A Battalion and the lads are all absolutely wonderful. When he went to Nottingham High School, he really enjoyed the army section of the combined Cadet force then went into security when he left school and attended University in South Wales," she said.
"When he turned 31, he began to reevaluate his life and decided to go back into the force. We have military personnel on both sides of the family and he was lucky to know his grandfather."
His great-grandfather Basil Farrer was in the Royal Army Medical Corps and had been part of a military group known as the British Expeditionary Force, who were also known as 'The Old Contempibles' because the Kaiser once ordered the destruction of "that contemptible little army."
The contemptibles stood their ground against a force of ten times their number and prevented the German advance against the Channel port in the First World War. The group took the nickname name with pride and the Queen mother unveiled a plaque commemorating the Old Contemptibles in Westminister Abbey in 1993.
Rosie felt a great sense of pride watching her son take part in the ceremony and felt her father would have also been immensely proud of Luke's achievements.
"I'm really proud and I know his great-grandfather would have been beside himself. The state funeral took place the day after the 29th anniversary of his death. His grandfather became a bit of a celebrity because of their history and there was a plaque unveiled in 1993 for them. He went on Wogan and also to Downing Street to meet Margaret Thatcher," she said.
"My grandfather was an ordinary bloke from Yorkshire and couldn't believe the way this had all taken off. Both of my boys have grown up with this and were incredibly proud of him."
Millions tuned in to watch the funeral from home as well as many in attendance on the day. However, Rosie didn't feel that her son was nervous ahead of marching in the ceremony.
"I don't think he was because he is now thirty-three so he has a lot of maturity in all walks of life. He has worked in security too so he has had to deal with all sorts of things over the years. I didn't get the impression that he was nervous at all," she said.
"We haven't spoken yet because he was so busy with overnight rehearsals but we exchanged messages. I've sent him photos and videos of the day that he can share with his marching buddies that were with him. He could see all the Royals as they came through the Wellington Arch and the coffin was right in front of them."
She added: "I think he valued it greatly because of the connection to his great-grandfather. The Queen Mother was a patron of the Old Contemptibles Association. Their grandfather was picked to lay the wreath as he was the most mobile of the contemptibles in 1993. Luke and his brother Daniel went with him dressed in their finery to lay smaller wreaths.
"The funny thing was as the bagpipes struck up, Luke covered his ears as he was only four years old at the time. I couldn't do anything about it at the time. The Queen Mother came up to me afterward and said, I see the bagpipes weren't terribly well received. He has never lived that down and we told him not to cover his ears on the day."
Rosie posted a photo of Luke in a Mapperely Facebook group which quickly gathered likes and comments from well-wishers who had spotted him in the ceremony. Many of the comments praised his performance at the funeral and said that it had made them feel proud.
Although the funeral is now finished with work returning to normal, it may be Christmas before Luke returns to Nottingham.
"I'm not sure when he is going to make it to Nottingham next. The Battalion was meant to be doing a certain exercise towards the end of October which may not be going ahead. He had been hopeful for a few days off to come up to us," she said.
"It may be Christmas before he can visit as it can be interspersed with guard duty too. We may get a few days together at Christmas but there will be celebrations up here with family and extended family."
