THOUSANDS OF Barbadians did not allow rain to derail their Independence Parade yesterday, as throngs descended on Kensington Oval to witness the event, switched to that venue after Tuesday’s deluge that left the Garrison Savannah flooded.
Under darkened evening skies, floodlights illuminated the historic cricket ground where 61 officers and over 1 000 in the armed and unarmed units paraded, while Prince Henry of Wales (known as Prince Harry the world over), decked out in military regalia, took the salute.
As the voice of parade commander Major Wendy Yearwood, the first woman in that role, echoed commands across the expansive grounds, resounding cheers went up from the mammoth crowd as Prince Harry mounted a Land Rover bearing the Queen’s Standard to review the parade.
It was characteristic of the excitement that had greeted Prime Minister Freundel Stuart on his arrival and that expressed for nurses of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and staff of the Transport Board, who were both on parade for the first time. (GC)
Please read the full story in today’s Weekend Nation, or in the eNATION edition.
