The Halton Brats

or to give them their formal title the Old Haltonians.
 
We are at RAF Halton for the reunion of all former apprentices which is held every three years. The oldest gentlemen on the parade ground were in their 90’s and remarkably sprightly.
 
We were able to visit some of the workshops and museums on site, and see the WW1 trenches that have been discovered and restored.
 
The “brats” formed up in their entry groups and marched on to the parade square, led by the Golden Oldies, the pipe band for the Sunset Ceremony. It was quite emotional listening to the music, especially The Crags of Mount Tumbledown, which always gets to me.
 
B’s entry was the 106th which was the last of the Trenchard apprentices, before they system was changed. They have a very interesting banner, which proved to be a bit troublesome in the wind as they marched off down the hill. 
 
In the evening the 106th group of about 50 blokes and 20 or so wives met up for dinner. It was good to put faces to names that I’ve heard about and chat to some of the wives.
 
I ended up with about 200 photographs from the activities of the day. Need to get them sorted and shared with the entry.
   
A picture of the Golden Oldies is in extras