Ref. 30787IT'S every soldier's proud honour to parade before the Queen.

But for friends Kevin Bird and Andrew Weekes, who grew up together in Swindon, the Queen's Birthday Parade on Saturday will be somewhat special.

The childhood pals, who are both Band Sergeant Majors, will be marching together in London for the final time as Andrew prepares to hang up his high-shine boots.

Both soldiers trained together as youngsters at the Salvation Army centre in Gorse Hill.

They became friends at the age of five and have played alongside each other on countless occasions since.

Kevin, 37, of the Grenadier Guards, said although it was the end of an era they would focus on the task in hand.

"It will be sad, but we've got an important job to do this weekend," said the father-of-four, who used to live in Upper Stratton but is now in London.

"We have both been doing this event since the early 1980s and we've really enjoyed ourselves it's a great honour."

TV viewers may even have spotted them at the Queen Mother's funeral procession in 2002.

Preparations for Saturday's parade started a month ago. And the whole parade has been rehearsed seven times to ensure the day goes smoothly.

Cornet-player Andrew, 39, belongs to another regiment the Scots Guards but the pair will still be marching within 10ft of each other as they order their men around the parade square.

He spent his childhood in Gorse Hill, but also moved away to live in London.

"Our job is to keep discipline in the ranks and ensure everyone is in time," said Kevin.

"It's not easy, when you're playing an instrument at the same time."

And while many of the spectators will be hoping for a continuation of the fine weather, Kevin, who plays the clarinet, is praying for cloud.

"It gets very hot under the Bearskin," he said.

"But at the same time we don't want rain. That can add up to 7lbs in weight."

Traditionally members of the Grenadier Guards were deployed as stretcher-bearers during time of conflict.

Now the regiment is being trained to deal with nuclear, chemical and biological attack.

l You can watch Kevin and Andrew live in action on BBC1 10.30am-12.20pm on Saturday.

Kevin Shoesmith