Ledbury mayor Mary Cooper enjoyed her own Review of the Fleet, just before the Queen.

The Ledbury party, including Coun Cooper, Coun Keith Francis and Len Huff, former chairman of the Ledbury Independent Traders' Association, arrived slightly late for the mass naval gathering at Spithead, Portsmouth.

The Royal Navy arranged for HMS Grimsby to take all latecomers on board and ferry them to designated ships. The Ledbury party was set to go on board the mine counter-measures ship HMS Ledbury, almost last in the fleet line-up.

As a result, HMS Grimsby stopped at virtually every ship en-route and the Ledbury party enjoyed almost the same experience to that enjoyed by the Queen shortly afterwards.

Coun Cooper said: "It was an incredible sight and we saw the Queen go by, dressed in blue. It really was a day to remember."

Coun Cooper will represent Ledbury at a service in Hereford Cathedral on Sunday to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.