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ROYAL Navy sailors have been undertaking their final rehearsals in Portsmouth ahead of the Remembrance Day commemorations in London.

A total of 104 personnel drawn from across the service including Royal Marines, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) will be taking part in the National Service of Remembrance this coming Sunday.

The parade will be accompanied by 51 members of the Royal Marines Band, with the parade’s participants undergoing training at HMS Excellent on Whale Island.

Warrant Officer Darren ‘Eddie’ Wearing, Royal Navy state ceremonial training officer, said the Remembrance Day service ‘means everything’ to those in the Royal Navy and the other armed forces.

Members of the Royal Marines Band Corp of Drums based at Portsmouth Naval Base rehearse at HMS Excellent, Portsmouth, for the Remembrance Day commemorations in London on Sunday. Picture: PA Wire

He said: ‘It’s all about remembering those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and a time for us to pay our respects.

‘They are there to achieve the ultimate standard, we are there to pay our respects so everything needs to be absolutely immaculate on the day and it will be.’

Able Seaman (AB) medical assistant Adam Cuthbert, 43, who is serving at RCDM Birmingham and is from York, echoed the sentiment, saying he felt ‘immensely proud’ since his arrival at the base three weeks ago.

He said: ‘Despite the wind and the rain I realise the aim is to be on the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day which is what it’s all about.

Members of the Royal Navy's Ceremonial Guard at Whale Island, Portsmouth.

Picture: Habibur Rahman — Members of the Royal Navy's Ceremonial Guard at Whale Island, Portsmouth. Picture: Habibur Rahman

‘I have been here 20 years now, I have served overseas, Afghanistan, where I have lost friends, comrades, and I just feel honoured to be there on Sunday and remember them.’

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AB Holly Toms, 19, from HMS Drake in Plymouth, Devon, said it was ‘a great honour’ to be part of the service, and she would be thinking of those who fought alongside her father in the Falklands War.

She said: ‘Not everyone gets to do it, my dad has been in for 43 years and he has never had the option to do November ceremonies.

‘It’s a great time to remember those who have gone.’

She added that she was proud to honour those who served in the Falklands war, including her father.

She said: ‘I think it’s brilliant as I get to honour him, he joined when he was 16, two years later, still very young, he went to the Falklands.

‘He thinks it’s amazing I get to do this as he had many friends who did pass away in the Falklands.’

The Remembrance Day parade to The Cenotaph in central London will begin at 9am on Sunday, November 13.

Royal Navy sailors in Portsmouth prepare for Remembrance Day commemorations in London