TWO brothers from Overpool will walk behind the coffin of Margaret Thatcher today.
The Welsh Guards, who served on the Sir Galahad during the Falklands War, will help escort Baroness Thatcher’s casket through the streets of London, draped in the Union flag.
Garrison Sergeant Major Bill Mott, the most senior non-commissioned soldier in the British Army, is responsible for all the Army’s ceremonial events in the capital.
He will act as Command Warrant Officer for the Bearer Party, accompanied by younger brother Major Nick Mott, the Officer In Charge of the Bearer Party, as they join troops from across the armed services carrying the coffin into St Paul’s Cathedral.
The brothers, who survived the Argentine attack on the Sir Galahad, are thought to be the last Falkland veterans serving in the Welsh Guards.
A third brother John is a former regimental sergeant major. Mum Barbara has lived out of the area for nine years.
Father-of-one Bill Mott went to Sutton High School and worked at Mosswood Brothers on the Rossmore Industrial Estate before joining the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards in April 1979.
For the past decade, the 51-year-old has had responsibility for ceremonial events such as the Trooping of the Colour, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding and the Queen’s jubilee regatta.
GSM Mott has also been a pivotal figure in the repatriation ceremonies for those killed in action during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The funeral will bring together past prime ministers, political and cultural icons.
But opposition to the scale of the funeral has come from the Anglican bishop of Baroness Thatcher’s home town of Grantham.
