Trooping the Colour

stoneill

Before this get into a Mrs Windsor bashing exercise - I do not want to discuss politics.

I watched some of the Trooping the Colour and I have to say, the Brits really know how to do the pomp and ceremony.
The planning, practice and preparation to perform the marches must have been painstaking - the precision of the footdrill. Whatever your allegiance, you have got to admire the display that was on show. It was impressive.

goldie fish

They have been doing it for about 100 years. They just follow the same script every year.

Carraig Fhearghais

goldie fish wrote: »

They have been doing it for about 100 years. They just follow the same script every year.

Wow, 100 years, they must have been very young when they started!! :)

tac foley

Especially when you remember that the troops involved were not long ago back in Afghanistan carrying out their usual soldier tasks. In fact, all have served in A'stan and Iraq before that, even the donkey-whallopers.

...and don't forget that the Irish Guards are also to be found doing the same thing.

tac

cruasder777

stoneill wrote: »

Before this get into a Mrs Windsor bashing exercise - I do not want to discuss politics.

I watched some of the Trooping the Colour and I have to say, the Brits really know how to do the pomp and ceremony.
The planning, practice and preparation to perform the marches must have been painstaking - the precision of the footdrill. Whatever your allegiance, you have got to admire the display that was on show. It was impressive.

Drill wise the RAF Regiment are on another level from the Guards. So are the Royal Marines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk0qyBiqdAE

Jawgap

I watched it at the weekend, as i do every year!

It was required watching in our house when we were kids because my Dad had an uncle who spent 20+ years in the 'Micks,' finishing up as a Colour Sergeant in the early 70s.

I always think that it's not the individual's sharpness, but the whole choreography of it that makes it so impressive.

maybe the Marines and RAF regt drill better - but they don't play an instrument and ride a horse at the same time;) - they probably do more unspeakable things than that!

tac foley

I believe that an important point has been missed here - with the RAF Regiment Queen's Colour Squadron drill team and yes, even the Royal Marines, it is a very few selected members of the units that are chosen and specially trained for their admittedly impressive demonstrations. With the Trooping of the Colour, the ENTIRE brigade of Foot Guards and the Household Cavalry 'performs', if that is the word to use.

The drill movements are substantially more than 100 years old, as well - they were based on the early 1800's reformed infantry-of-the-line field foot drill, designed to move infantry units and sub-units rapidly from the line-of-march and into line-of-battle with the least amount of drill movements and with the maximum of firepower available if needed during the Napoleonic Wars. The same goes for the cavalry.

tac

Cardinal Richelieu

I believe they source the horses from Ireland.

Local-womanizer

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

I believe they source the horses from Ireland.

Every horse in the house hold guard are brought over from Ireland. We have them working undercover!

cruasder777

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

I believe they source the horses from Ireland.

That's correct, they are bought along with horses for the Royal Mews, from the South East, I wont be more specific.

cruasder777

tac foley wrote: »

I believe that an important point has been missed here - with the RAF Regiment Queen's Colour Squadron drill team and yes, even the Royal Marines, it is a very few selected members of the units that are chosen and specially trained for their admittedly impressive demonstrations. With the Trooping of the Colour, the ENTIRE brigade of Foot Guards and the Household Cavalry 'performs', if that is the word to use.

The drill movements are substantially more than 100 years old, as well - they were based on the early 1800's reformed infantry-of-the-line field foot drill, designed to move infantry units and sub-units rapidly from the line-of-march and into line-of-battle with the least amount of drill movements and with the maximum of firepower available if needed during the Napoleonic Wars. The same goes for the cavalry.

tac

All Royal Marines who pass the course serve in Kings squad, they do a drill display as part of their passing out parade(obviously not the drill in this video).

These guys would have just passed out. 1 min 55sec

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIA3IB4a92o

tac foley

Local-womanizer wrote: »

Every horse in the house hold guard are brought over from Ireland. We have them working undercover!

What are you implying by your comment?

Is it meant somehow to be funny?

The horses are not, as far as is known, members of any illegal paramilitary organisation, and are not volunteers for special duties in the United Kingdom on behalf of any such organisation.

tac

Fratton Fred

tac foley wrote: »

The horses are not, as far as is known, members of any illegal paramilitary organisation, and are not volunteers for special duties in the United Kingdom on behalf of any such organisation.

tac

Are you sure about that? Is your information here say, or straight from the horses mouth?

Sorry, I'll get my coat....

Jawgap

tac foley wrote: »

What are you implying by your comment?

Is it meant somehow to be funny?

The horses are not, as far as is known, members of any illegal paramilitary organisation, and are not volunteers for special duties in the United Kingdom on behalf of any such organisation.

tac

What about Special Agent Conmael - the Irish Guards Wolfhound - seen here infiltrating Windsor Castle

Cardinal Richelieu

Are British Horses not good enough? Only one of the 5 horse remount stations were in Ireland pre-independence so would have thought they would have the necessary bloodstock in the UK to resupply.

tac foley

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

Are British Horses not good enough? Only one of the 5 horse remount stations were in Ireland pre-independence so would have thought they would have the necessary bloodstock in the UK to resupply.

Tradition.

tac

Morpheus

That remount station was in Lusk. the old barracs main house is still there. Anyway why complain!? its tradition etc AND its good for our economy!

Jawgap

horses for courses:)

The remount station just didn't deal with Irish horses. During WWI horses were imported from all over the world to the different stations.

Also different horses were needed for different jobs, the horse of the general was a bit different to the horse pulling the artillery - naturally only Irish horses were used for officers*

Perhaps Irish horses were less suited for certain jobs, and that helped drive the tradition of certain regiments being associated with Irish-bred animals.





*I have no factual evidence to back that statement up......

Cardinal Richelieu

Jawgap wrote: »

horses for courses:)

The remount station just didn't deal with Irish horses. During WWI horses were imported from all over the world to the different stations.

Also different horses were needed for different jobs, the horse of the general was a bit different to the horse pulling the artillery - naturally only Irish horses were used for officers*

Perhaps Irish horses were less suited for certain jobs, and that helped drive the tradition of certain regiments being associated with Irish-bred animals.





*I have no factual evidence to back that statement up......

Where did the Lusk station horses come from in the Empire?

Morpheus

One assumes they were horses bred in Ireland!?

see here for more information about Lusk Remount Station

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=73017259&postcount=7

Cardinal Richelieu

Morphéus wrote: »

One assumes they were horses bred in Ireland!?

see here for more information about Lusk Remount Station

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=73017259&postcount=7

Ta seen that thread before and contributed to it and the other 2 threads on boards that I know deal with Remount Farms too but from Jawgap post he might have more info on the Lusk Remount that hasn't been covered on boards before such as the importation of Empire Horses.

Jawgap

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

Where did the Lusk station horses come from in the Empire?

Just a second while I put my anorak on.....

.....there's a book called "The History of Livestock in Ireland" - I had to use it for something else a few years ago and ended up reading the bit about horses - only 'cause it was more interesting than the bit about sheep (don't ask) I was supposed to be reading.

If I recall, they sourced a lot of gigis from the States and this caused some problems with imported diseases - there was also a strong backlash from the horsey fraternity here because they were worried that the cheaper American nags, if they weren't used by the Army, would be sold locally (as in, in Ireland) and that would depress prices. I think the Army had to agree to either re-export them or shoot them - an awful waste of what would have been healthy enough animals.

Jawgap

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

Ta seen that thread before and contributed to it and the other 2 threads on boards that I know deal with Remount Farms too but from Jawgap post he might have more info on the Lusk Remount that hasn't been covered on boards before such as the importation of Empire Horses.

sorry, don't have anything on Lusk.

I thought that book might be on Google Books but it's not (it's about 60 years old).

there is this, though....

Britain's Military Use of Horses (1914-1918)

The article mentions the importance of South Africa as a source of horses.

Jawgap

the google machine just spat this out.....

Night the Lusk IRA men torched Remount Farm

kleefarr

On again now.
Have been a few times. It's really something else.
Great discipline.

Jawgap

Nice day for it!

tac foley

Gentlemen - let's not get our hair on fire over a military parade in a foreign country where tradition just happens to rely on horses from Ireland. IIRC, the busbies used to be made from bearskins obtained from the former Soviet Union, and nobody seems to have made any kind of issue about that.

It's a parade to celebrate the birthday of the reigning monarch of a near-neighbour, with whom relations, especially trade relations, are especially friendly, not any kind of attempt to somehow put one over on the citizens of the Republic of Ireland.

If you REALLY want to see a parade, with drill that WILL raise your hair as well as your eyebrows, then go on to Youtube and watch the Chilean Armed forces literally strutting their stuff on THEIR annual parade.

Frighteningly good, and with ranks and files at least twice as long as those of the British Army in THEIR show.

tac

iceage

Slightly OT, but did any of you see that Austrian Drum troop? Now THATS some impressive stuff.. Back OT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW3QVLlK-kE

Jawgap

I think the Trooping the Colour ceremony is about much more than the drill - there are groups and units more capable of precision drill, but then that's all they do.

The fact the Guardsmen on parade have been on operations and have rotated into the ceremonial role makes it impressive - plus the occasion absolutely drips with history and tradition. I don't think there is an aspect to it that doesn't hark back or have its roots in some operation or military development.

The USMC Silent Drill team is an impressive outfit, but a bit like some other teams / units their drills are highly stylised and very impressive as choreography, but they're not terribly historic.

tac foley

Yes, the trooping of the colour actually IS a real ceremony, not an exercise contrived to display the martial skills of a group of soldiers. Its purpose is to parade the colours [the regimental flag that bears all the battle honours] to the monarch or to the colonel-in-chief of the regiment. As the Queen IS the colonel-in-chief of the household division, she gets to see their regimental ensigns paraded in her honour. The Royal Horse Artillery do not have an ensign - THEIR ensign are their guns.

If you watch carefully, you will see the action of the foot guards as the colours are presented to the ensign/lieutenant designated to parade them - the two foot guards at either end of the file turn outwards, with fixed bayonets at the -en-garde position, ready to defend the colours from an attack on the flank.

tac

amurph0

cruasder777 wrote: »

Drill wise the RAF Regiment are on another level from the Guards. So are the Royal Marines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk0qyBiqdAE

At about 1:00 in. Isn't that the opening theme to Thunderbirds?