Drumderg Loyalist Flute Band from Keady take capital by storm when they join Lord Carson Somme Memorial parade through central London

Drumderg Loyalist Flute Band travelled to London to take part in the Lord Carson Somme Memorial parade at the weekend.

Band master Paul Elliott said the band received an invitation to take part in the parade through the streets of London on Saturday “and we went along”.

“It was a fantastic experience and it was a great precursor to the parade to visit Buckingham Palace,” he said.

“We got a lovely photograph of the band at the gates – and that is only half the band.

“We had 55 members travelling to London, but the entire membership is nearly 100.

“The reception we got around Buckingham Palace was amazing.

“There was so much interest from people who wanted us to form up and play outside it (the palace).

“And we had to move the crowd back to allow us to get our photograph taken, such was the interest.

“London is a cosmopolitan city, but we had so many requests for photographs of band members in their uniform.

“That was really positive experience with such interest in the band.”

​Mr Elliott said the parade itself was a two-mile walk around central London.

“A Palestinian protest was taking place along our parade route so we had to navigate our way through that, but obviously they were not overly pleased to see us,” said Mr Elliott.

“They knew it was a loyal order parade and possibly didn’t agree with it.

“They basically blocked the road and we had to be escorted onto the footpath.

“It was exciting but very intimidating when we had to walk a tunnel of hate.

“The only way out of it was to engage our members by playing.

​”It was a very positive experience for us apart from that.

“The bottom line is that we had a sanctioned parade and had been given permission from the police and did nothing wrong.

“But it was a great day, especially for our young membership to experience walking in England’s capital city’.

​Mr Elliott added the band also played in London in 2013 “but as bands evolve we would only have had a few members who were in London twice”.

“We have also played at the Menin Gate and the Ulster Tower in France.”