A SOLDIER who lives in the hamlet of Crux Easton near Hurstbourne Tarrant kept vigil over the Queen Mother's coffin on 12 separate occasions during her lying-in-state at Westminster Hall.

On the Friday and the Monday of the occasion Major Johnny Wheeler, the Chief of Staff of 43 (Wessex) Brigade at Bulford, and three other members of the Household Cavalry stood at one of the four corners of the catafalque as thousands of members of the public filed past to pay their last respects.

Each period lasted 20 minutes and Major Wheeler, who is 36 and joined The Life Guards 14 years ago, said that he felt honoured and privileged he had played a part in such an historic occasion.

"As I came out for the first time my only emotion was to get it right," he said.

"The steps are quite steep, the boots are stiff and the uniform is not very forgiving.

"The adrenaline is pumping and you cannot relax.

"It was more nerves and concentration to get the drill right, but it all went smoothly.

"After that I was focussing on the drills much less and really started to get a feel for the event.

"I could see people out of the side of my helmet and monitor their reactions - people shared their emotions by looking at one another rather than talking.

"What was so different was that normally ceremonial events are full of background music, but this was so quiet, which was brilliant because music would have detracted from the event."

Major Wheeler also noticed that, unusually, the soldiers of the Household Cavalry were hardly noticed except by small children who gazed at them in awe.

"We are so used to people staring at us on ceremonial occasions, but this time we were almost invisible," he added.

"People had come to pay their respects to the Queen Mother and they didn't want to waste a minute looking at anything else other than the coffin."