Airborne gunners fired a Royal Salute in Colchester on 2 June 2022

Airborne gunners fired a Royal Salute in Colchester on 2 June 2022 to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in the way that only artillery can.

With several thousand spectators watching, three guns from Colchester-based F (Sphinx) Parachute Battery, 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery fired a 42-gun salute in Castle Park at noon. 

Lord-Lieutenant of Essex Jennifer Tolhurst was the Inspecting Officer as the Queen’s representative in the county and British Army Band Colchester performed a formal marching display before the Royal Salute was fired. 

The guns fired were 105 mm Light Guns, the same type used by 7 Para RHA for its operational role with 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, the British Army’s global response force. The 42 rounds represented 21 rounds to mark The Queen’s Official Birthday and 21 for Coronation Day.

During the inspection, eligible gunners were awarded the Queens’s Platinum Jubilee Medals by the Lord-Lieutenant, which is being presented to military personnel with five years’ service.

Gunner Ben Elkhatib, 22 from Nottingham, was among those presented with a medal. “I was pulling the firing lever for our gun, and I certainly had some nerves beforehand because it’s unusual for us to fire in public and such an important occasion,” he said. “To see that thousands of people had come out to watch made me feel really proud to be a gunner and to have been able to send our congratulations to Her Majesty The Queen.”

After the salute, the Band moved to Upper Castle Park to play as part of Colchester Borough Council’s community picnic, where vehicles and equipment used by the town’s Regular and Reserve units were on display.

Lt Col. Ed Rankin, Commander of Colchester Garrison, said "It is a great honour for Colchester to be a Royal Saluting Stationand to be awarded City status as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The salute provides a wonderful occasion for soldiers to put on a show for the people of Colchester and thank them for their support. The gunners and musicians performed impeccably in front of a large and appreciative audience to send our congratulations to Her Majesty the Queen."

The guns of 7 Para RHA and the music of British Army Band Colchester will next be on display to the public at the free 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team and Colchester Garrison Show, which took place on Abbey Field on Saturday 25 June 2022.