St James's Palace, London (1926)

[lordkrill]

this was the days of the real london not choked with outsiders wanting to change our way of life

[menacinghat]

@lordkrill

those days will return. The world is always changing from good to bad then back to good and so on. Europe is going through a multicultural revolution of fire. The planetary culture will just have all races now.

[Alienmad462]

anyone know any other really old videos of british soldiers

send me name

[GR4NDTH3FT4UTO]

Music please? :)

[JohnnyH1982]

Wow, that Slade-Wallace stuff looks really good! I wonder why they ever stopped wearing it?

[emptyangel]

@JohnnyH1982

Because of those damned post WWII budget cuts.

At one stage the bandsmen wore the same uniform as an ordinary guardsman, without the white lace, up until Prince Philip made it so they wore gold embroidered winged epaulettes.

Even the amount of white lace on a drummer's tunic was also reduced and remains so up to this day.

So you can imagine everything else they 'cut' in between.

[82abnoff]

A gentleman and a Lady. Fuck you all,

rto

[AJollyGoodFelon]

I couldn't spot the fiddle player or the pianist in the marching band. Those buildings look old!

[AJollyGoodFelon]

That's the most amazing sounding marching band ever.

[emptyangel]

Good one smart arse!

Obviously, there was no sound recorded along with this footage.

I thought whoever picked the music, to go along with this now, did a pretty good job.

[voxfox1991]

they are very old, the area of london in the video in general is made up of 17th, 18th and early 19th century buildings.

st james palace itself is a tudor building so dates back even further to the 16th century.

[MaryOMackie]

toy soldiers.

[emptyangel]

You seem to forget the part where they have fought in the Seven Years War, American War of Independence, Napoleonic Wars, Crimean War, Boer War, WW1, WW2, Gulf War, Iraq War, every other major conflict in-between and are still currently serving in Afghanistan.

They are soldiers, as in any army, with the added responsibility of guarding the queen both ceremonially and functionally when they patrol the Sovereign Palaces' grounds.

That is to say they don't spin rifles their entire careers.

[englishman2000]

only in england

[EnglishG3nt]

Absolutely wonderful!

[StephonWallace]

dude this was 83 years ago wow

[emptyangel]

Damn military budget cutbacks. :(

[01MarchHare]

It's amazing isn't it? There's at least twice the number of men composing the actual Guard here than today and then there are those Guards still at their post as well as that Guard (and others I imagine) keeping the crowd back.

What's more the band has more men and is accompanied by a Corps of Drum! I imagine the same then applies to the New Guard (assuming that this is the Old Guard)?

[noskcajluap]

@01MarchHare It is actually the new guard you see slow marching in this video. This is from the days when the changing of the guard happened at St. James Palace. This is why in the current format the guard commander and the colour go to St. James Palace leaving only a detachment at Buckingham Palace. The number of people in the guard will be roughly the same, if not identical, to a modern guard mounting. I whole heartedly agree about the bands though! The cut backs are criminal!

[01MarchHare]

@noskcajluap That makes sense, otherwise they'd march into the forecourt from the Palace itself!

I think I also have to resign that band numbers today aren't all that's regrettable. There's something more stately about this ceremony then than there is today. I can't spot a single porky (or squat) musician. Everyone seems to ask about the packs the Guardsmen wear but what about the change (or toning down) of the bandsmen tunics?

[noskcajluap]

@01MarchHare I do not like the packs on the guardsman so not bothered about that. As for the musicians tunics, it was a matter of cost post WW2. All the gold on those tunics were real. As I am sure you know, there was a period where musicians wore identical uniforms to the 'squaddies'. It was actually Prince Philip's idea to bring back the gold wings! As for the lack of portly chaps! I am a large chap myself and I wear an RAF uniform to play! Why do you have to be thin to be a musician?

[01MarchHare]

Portly is certainly not rotund I'm sure. I just recall seeing a musician once who rather reminded me of James Corden is all. To be honest it's not so much girth but height that I quibble about. You're right though, musicianship is more important than any protest I may make for ultimately a trivial point on aesthetic.

[noskcajluap]

@01MarchHare I think if you can do the job and look smart on parade size should not be an issue! (although I must agree, the very shorter member do look a bit strange) Alot of it is to do with how you carry yourself.

[01MarchHare]

@noskcajluap Very true, one can be tall and lithe and have absolutely terrible posture and a poor player to boot. Height is certainly only a cavil one can have with the Foot Guards though.

If you don't mind my asking, what is your own uniformed band experience?

[Crecybowman]

@01MarchHare Never a Guardsman (Green Jacket!) but I did notice the arms weren't swung to shoulder height - Is/was that a 'modernism?'

[emptyangel]

@Crecybowman

Along with the harder stamping and more aggressive come to a halt. The Guards have become less 'floaty' and elegant but more rigid instead.

[peaceoutpeople]

looks more like a circus then a parade.

[pbegley99]

"Looks just the same as 2008!"

Not quite. The style of marching is a bit different to today's - arms aren't swung as high. Also the Guards bands today have fewer personnel and their uniforms are a bit less elaborate - note the gold lace across the chests - they have plain fronted tunics today. It's the band of the Welsh Guards there but the Corps of Drums and the guard seem to be from the Grenadier Guards.

[pbegley99]

Actually the men coming to the present arms at the end seem to be Welsh Guards also - it looks like old guard Welsh Guards, new guard Grenadiers

[01MarchHare]

Also they don't seem to bring up the knees and I believe bearskins today are not as thick, what with them now being sourced from culled, infirmed bears?

It's a shame they ceased to wear the cross belts (I cannot recall their proper name), I rather like them.

[mikeb2390]

Not sure about the officers slow marching footwork!

[pbegley99]

I've since seen the same footage on BBC4's "The Thirties in Colour" in which you see a bit more of the march on sequence. It seems to be only the band and drums who have that laid back marching style - the guard detachment behind them seem to march more or less in the modern manner.

[tominator0x0]

they've slowed down the footage to make it seem more modern.

[DADRENO]

You should have used military band music NOT violins!

[riotagus]

Wonderful!!!

[twoslices]

Looks just the same as 2008!

[emptyangel]

@twoslices There are some fairly noticeable differences though!