Who is Captain Rupert Hills?
Captain Rupert Hills is Two Troop Leader of the Blues and Royals Squadron at HCMR. He is just finishing up his role as Project Officer for The Household Cavalry Standards Parade 2014. Captain Hills has been based at HCMR since summer 2012. His first task at Knightsbridge was as a Captain with the Military Contingency Force for the London 2012 Olympics. Capt Hills has ridden on State Visits, The Queens Birthday Parade and also led the Marching Party for the Cenotaph while based at Knightsbridge.
Talk me through your day during the lead up to the Standards Parade.
We started planning the Standards parade in July 2013 but mainly I started working on it after summer leave in September 2013. Initially it wasn’t particularly busy, a lot of time was spent working out how much it was going to cost, how much tickets were going to cost, how it was going to be managed, where it was going to be managed from, and what each person who was involved was going to do/what their role would be.
The first thing to get ready and sent out was the ticket applications to ensure that they were sent along with the Christmas cards. It was then very much a waiting game to see the volume and the uptake that would come in after the busy Christmas period.
We had a steady flow of returns in the New Year, but not the initial uptake that we were hoping for from the associations. It was deemed that we needed to send out more application forms and to do online ticket sales through the Household Cavalry Foundation.
By the beginning of March 2014 I was starting to get a large quantity of returns, alleviating fears that we would have empty stands and empty seats.
As time got closer we started to be inundated with phone calls and emails all asking for information on the day and for additional tickets. As Wednesday 28th May drew closer I was having regular meetings with Buckingham Palace to ensure that not only the Parade but the Garden Party as well went to plan.
What was the most challenging part of your day?
Having to manage my time between looking after my troop and also controlling and managing the standards parade with increasing volume of queries and questions
What was the most rewarding part of your role?
Receiving the thank you letter and emails from people explaining how much they had enjoyed themselves and what a fantastic occasion they felt it was.
How do you feel the parade and garden party went?
Overall I think it went very well, it was a pity that the weather was not slightly better however I felt that the rain still did not dampen every bodies spirit!
Did you enjoy yourself?
It was a fantastic experience and I feel very privileged to be involved with it, it had its ups and downs and at times could be very stressful, but overall it turned out to be a spectacular day.
