Baroness Thatcher Military Rehearsal 'Went Very Well' 15.04.13
7More than 700 members of the Armed Forces have taken part in a full military rehearsal for Baroness Thatcher's funeral.
Major Andrew Chatburn, the man in charge of choreographing the parade, said the rehearsal in the early hours of this morning "went very well" and claimed it was "vitally important" to stage a trial of Wednesday's event.
Troops gathered in central London before dawn as a Union flag-draped coffin was carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage from St Clement Danes, the church of the Royal Air Force, down the Strand to St Paul's Cathedral.
Maj Chatburn, ceremonial staff officer for the Household Division, who was also behind the royal wedding procession two years ago and last year's Diamond Jubilee parade, said: "Timings are most important. We will learn something quite significant this morning about the timings, and to familiarise the troops of their duties.
"Bearing in mind these are sailors, soldiers and airmen who have come in to do this specific task from their routine duties, so it's new to them.
"They need to see the ground as well so they can get a feel for how it's going to go and they can perform their duties with confidence on the day.
"I thought it went very well."
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