And the band played on. Once again the people of Deal, about 10,000 of them, were entertained in true military fashion under blue skies for the popular Marines on the Green on Sunday afternoon.

They spread around the Memorial Bandstand and along the beach to the strains of A Life on the Ocean Wave, Elgar’s classic Nimrod and many others.

It wasn’t just traditional favourites, as the Band of the Royal Marines threw in some renditions of My Fair Lady tunes and even Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall.

The concert marked a farewell for its conductor Lt Col Nick Grace who is hanging up his baton after 35 years service as a Royal Marine.

For the full story and eight pages of pictures, see this week's Mercury, out today.