Sheffield soldier shows her pride in LGBT march
Private Jennie Parkinson, aged 29, joined military personnel from all three armed services to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the army’s participation in London Pride on Saturday.
Private Parkinson, who serves with the Royal Army Vetinary Corps in Germany said that Pride is ‘about having the chance to celebrate who you are’.
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Hide AdShe said: “I’m proud to be wearing the uniform and representing both the British Army and the gay community.
“Pride London is the perfect opportunity to bring these both together.”
At Pride, the LGBT - lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender - community marches through London in a parade of solidarity.
Gay recruits have only been able to serve openly in the Armed Forces since 2000.
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Hide AdSoldiers in uniform marched at the head of the London Pride March with its slogan ‘Live your life as you’. The army also lit up its Sandhurst military academy with the colours of the rainbow. The RAF Red Arrows filled the sky with colour in a flypast down Whitehall at the end of the parade through the country’s capital.
Lieutenant General Sir James Everard, the army’s diversity and inclusivity champion, said:“The Ministry of Defence has come a long way since 2000 when LGBT personnel were afforded equality in the Armed Forces. They are now openly encouraged and supported in a community whose watchword is respect.
“The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is perhaps our greatest icon of strong leadership. This week we have floodlit Old College in the rainbow colours to show how closely we see the links between the Army, the LGBT community and the nation we serve.
“The Army is proud to support its LGBT community and particularly proud of our links with Stonewall with which we have worked so hard to embrace and promote inclusivity and to fight discrimination.”