Braving soaking rain, around 100 soldiers marched through town yesterday, bearing songs, the spirit of goodwill and marching orders – but no fixed bayonets.
Braving soaking rain, around 100 soldiers marched through town yesterday, bearing songs, the spirit of goodwill and marching orders – but no fixed bayonets.
Parts of High Street and Hill Street were closed from 9am to around 10h30am, as the soldiers, from 6 SA Infantry Battalion Unit, took part in a peaceful parade to celebrate the 49th birthday of the unit, which has its headquarters at the Grahamstown Military Base.
The band played and colours were flying, as the unit also exercised its right to the freedom of the city, an honour bestowed on it in the 1960s – but there were no drawn swords or fixed bayonets, another aspect of the tradition.
As traffic on either side of Church Square came to a halt, all that could be heard was the stomp-stomp of army boots hitting the wet tar, water splattering under the soldiers' feet.
The 26-member South African Army Band of KwaZulu-Natal provided the razzle-dazzle, attracting curious pedestrians, despite the weather. Onlookers did a double-take when band performed jazz legend Louis Armstrong's famous "It's a wonderful world", as a band member belted out Armstrong's lyrics with such an uncanny resemblance that one could swear the soldier had borrowed Armstrong's raspy baritone for the day.
"I see skies of blue… clouds of white," sang the soldier, without a shred of irony in his voice as the drizzle continued to descend from the cloud-covered sky. "And I think to myself… what a wonderful world…," he continued. His efforts did not go unnoticed: about 100 residents who had braved the unrelenting drizzle clapped, clearly delighted at the performance.
Onlookers had earlier witnessed the 100-strong parade begin from the intersection of High and Hill streets, in front of the Cathedral, before the soldiers entered High Street, on their way to the city hall. There Mayor Vumile Lwana addressed residents and the soldiers, elaborating on the significance of the freedom of the city accolade.
"The presence of a battalion in any city has to be acknowledged and appreciated by the citizenry of that city," said Lwana. "The presence of a battalion guarantees the safety of the citizen."
Yesterday's parade was part of the three-day birthday celebrations of the 6 SA Infantry Battalion Unit. It was established on 1 April, 1962. The events kicked off on Wednesday with an open day at the unit's Sports Fields, where the local army exhibited its military weapons and orchestrated two mock-attacks. On display were mean machines such as rocket-propelled grenades (RPG 7s).
Speaking on behalf of the army base on Wednesday, Lieutenant Carl Fuller said the celebrations were an attempt to ensure local residents had a better understanding of who the army were, and what they did. "We are heading for a milestone next year, when we hit the half-century," said Fuller.
"We want to do something spectacular. We want to bring out the big guns then. So this is a trial run for that." The celebration reach a conclusion today, with a wreath-laying ceremony at the army base for fallen soldiers.
