Paras in the Tower of London…

By Garett Fitzgerald of the PRA’s Ilford 84 Branch

On a chilly October Sunday morning, visitors to the Tower of London noticed thirty-four men in the maroon berets of The Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces forming up in three ranks by the Lanthorn Tower. In the front rank was Brigadier Ian McLeod CMG MC (Ret’d), Elder of The Parachute Regiment. 

A little girl was heard to ask her parents who these men were. Her father, a young man in his twenties, replied: “They are the men who keep us safe.”. To the left of the platoon-strength group of veterans was Parachute Regiment veteran Steve Locke bearing the standard of the PRA’s Ilford 84 Branch. 

The PRA group was mostly made up of Ilford 84 Branch members but there were guests from the London Branch of the PRA and one member of the Tyneside branch of the PRA who returned because he was so impressed by the same event last year. 

Simon Martin, nominee for presidency of the Branch, brought the parade to attention and marched the veterans — most of whom belonged to the Ilford 84 Branch — up to the King’s Chapel for the standard to be blessed for the twenty-fifth time since the honour was granted in 2000. 

Lining the route were families of the veterans, bringing the total number present to over ninety people, the largest-ever turnout for this very special event at the Tower of London. Through its Ilford 84 Branch, the Parachute Regimental Association is the only regimental association outside the Household Division and the Royal Fusiliers permitted an annual church service at the Tower of London.

This honour dates back to 2000, when the Ilford 84 Branch had a new standard made. According to branch lore, the Reverend David Cooper — who was 2 PARA’s padre during the Falklands War in 1982 — suggested that Ilford 84 get their new standard blessed at The Tower of London. 

The Queen’s Chaplain at The Tower of London at the time was another well-loved Parachute Regiment padre, the Reverend Paul Abram, who had served with 3 PARA in the 1960s. The Rev Abram had also passed a Basic Parachute Course with Oxford University OTC in 1959 before going on to pass Selection for 21 (Artists) SAS. 

The Rev Abram took a keen interest in the matter and the Ilford 84 PRA standard became the first military standard to be blessed at The Tower of London since the then English Army had their standards blessed before fighting and winning at Agincourt over 400 years ago. The Ilford 84 PRA was also accorded the privilege of its own church service in The Tower every year, a privilege the branch members cherish greatly. 

Apart from the Household Division and the Fusiliers, the Ilford 84 Branch of the PRA is the only military or veterans formation to have been granted the privilege of a church service. The church service is not held on any particular Sunday each year. The date is agreed every year between the Ilford 84 Committee and the Chapel authority for the Tower of London.

After the church service and the blessing of the standard, the PRA group formed up outside the King’s Chapel to be marched by Simon Martin to The Keys — the Yeoman Warders’ or Beefeaters’ private pub — entry to which is another privilege given to the PRA members and their families. 

The sight of the Maroon Machine marching through the main courtyard of the Tower captured the attention of every tourist present and several expressed their delight at this unexpected bonus to their visit to the iconic London landmark, which, it should not be forgotten, is a royal palace. The PRA group raised money in the bar for the Colchester Airborne Statue Fund. Ilford 84 will return with guests to the Tower of London in 2026.