15 NOVEMBER 1963, Page 8

. . . of Poppy Day Another problem is what

collective noun to use when calling the parade up; for a noun in the vocative case is an essential component of all drill orders. 'Legion I' sounds as if we were a lot of damned Romans, 'Branch!' sounds as if we were part of a bank. 'Party' is almost certainly the correct usage for a body of men so widely mis- cellaneous (the Royal Danish Navy takes station alongside the Bengal Lancers), but 'Party' is not congruous to a solemn occasion. The whole thing is complicated by our acquisition in recent years of a rearguard manned by Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. Next year, I think, I shall take the

coward's way out and settle for 'Ladies and Gentlemen.'