Beneath the Bearskin

Hear from Garrison Sergeant Major Vern Stokes OBE MVO DL as he shares his experiences of what it is like to organise some of the most important ceremonial events in recent history.

Andrew 'Vern' Stokes joined the Coldstream Guards in 1988 at the age of 16 from his hometown in Shropshire. He went on to serve on operational tours across the globe, including Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

In 2011, he assumed the post of Academy Sergeant Major Sandhurst in the British Army. He joined the Headquarters in Horse Guards in 2015 as the Garrison Sergeant Major and has been instrumental in National events ever since.

Vern has had the extraordinary task of overseeing ceremonies of a scale and significance not witnessed for 70 years. A busy summer marking the Platinum Jubilee, the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, prompted the planning and delivery of a State Funeral and the Coronation of King Charles III.

Enjoy an evening of fascinating insight into the hard work of preparing pageantry as Mrs Anna Turner JP, His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire, talks with Vern about the logistics behind such historic occasions.