Winchester bugler takes centre stage in Rifles' concert (From This is Hampshire)
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Winchester bugler takes centre stage in Rifles' concert
4:00pm Monday 8th October 2012 in News
Lance Corporal Gareth Merchant outside the Royal Albert Hall
THE Albert Hall will soon play host to the Rifles’ regiment – with Winchester’s Lance Corporal Gareth Merchant playing a special role.
As the Colonel-in-Chief's Bugler, 27-year-old Gareth, who lives at Worthy Down, is recognised as The Rifles' best. The concert, called Swift and Bold, is in support of Care for Casualties, the regiment’s charity which cares for injured soldiers and their families.
Gareth said: “For us it’s a once-in-a-life-time thing. The Royal Albert hall is just another scale completely.”
In August The Hampshire Chronicle reported how, for the first time since its formation in 2007, all of the Massed Bands and Bugles of The Rifles met to rehearse at the Sir John Moore Barracks at Littleton.
Almost 300 men and women from the regiment will play at the world-renowned venue with tickets selling fast.
The Massed Bands and Bugles of The Rifles will perform Swift & Bold at the Albert Hall on October 18 from 7:30pm.
