Private Alice Bell marching into history
DCHS therapist and reservist Alice Bell will march into history tomorrow, as one of the Armed Forces’ guard of honour escorting the royal couple after the Coronation.
Private Alice Bell (30) of 101 Military Working Dog (MWD) Squadron, 1st Military Working Dog Regiment will be marching in the procession of 7,000 personnel from all three services that will escort Their Majesties from the service at Westminster Abbey back to Buckingham Palace.
She said: “I am excited to be part of such a historic event. It will be a memorable occasion that I can look back on and say that I played a part.” 101 MWD Squadron is a nationally recruited Army Reserve squadron based at St George’s Barracks, North Luffenham. It forms part of 1st Military Working Dog Regiment (Royal Army Veterinary Corps), that provides the only deployable military working dog and veterinary capability within the whole of the British Army.
Reserves joining the squadron are trained initially as Patrol Military Working Dog Handlers (MWDH). Patrol MWDs are primarily a Force Protection asset, they provide commanders with a high-profile visual deterrent that can detect, pursue, and detain an intruder with sub-lethal force. looking after the security and safety of military assets and their operating bases.
Alice joined Wales UOTC in 2016, transferred to 101 MWD in 2020. and she said: “I enjoy spending spare time with similar minded individuals and enjoyed the challenges I am presented with.”
The coronation of Their Majesties’ King Charles III and Queen Camilla is the largest military ceremonial operation for 70 years.