American Guardsman Reacts | British Cavalry Barracks 1956
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- Today I'm reacting to a short video about life for the Household Cavalry in 1956!
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The man swinging the bag is Jack Cowdrey. In the bag is the horses bright chain which is made of steel and when it gets wet it is prone to rust.
The bag wll contain grit or torn newspaper which gets in the links of the chain and helps in cleaning the chain.Todays chain is made if stainless steel.
Jack was my Squadron Corporal Major (SCM) Warrant Officer Class 2 in the late 60s at Wellington Barracks, London and I was the Squadron Clerk Lance Corporal of Horse (Corporal).
Sadly Jack is no longer with us.
Many thanks for explaining exactly what was being undertaken and putting a name to the face. So much old footage sadly can no longer be matched with names of those who were featured.
this is really fascinating for me. My Grandpa was in the Kings First Household Cavalry in WW1 -serving in France & Belgium with machine guns - to 1922 when Princess Diana's Grandfather Viscount Althrop was his commanding officer.
The axe is part of the Farriers kit, All cavalry horses have their number burnt into the front of their fore hoof with their regiment. Therefore, when a horse is lost, the Farrier will cut off the hoof to account for it. A bit like a horse dog tag. The spike at the back of the axe, is to dispatch horses that are struggling to cast off this mortal coil on the battle field.
He has some of the brass from the horses tack in the bag. He is swinging it in a bag of straw to polish it.
Tailors' chalk is used to make marks showing where materials should be cut or pleated, lengthened or shortened. Many use their own system, since they're doing themselves it could be specific to them.
The guy swinging the bag, may be polishing or, getting the rust out of some metal objects, sort of like a rock tumbler is my guess. Similar to how people used to put chain mail in barrels of rocks and sand to get rid of rust.
The full dress uniforms of the British Army, both for cavalry and infantry, are based on what were the standard uniforms for those branches in the second half of the nineteenth century, before the introduction of service dress-type uniforms. The tunic was adopted to replace the Napoleonic era coatee (tightly-fitted upper garment with tails) after its impracticality was painfully demonstrated in the Crimean War.
The tunics themselves are made of wool-nylon blend Melton cloth, which is quite heavy and meant to stand up to the cool and drizzly British weather. Difficult to wrinkle.
The farrier carries the ceremonial axe , a grim reminder from past battles involving cavalry .
Do I want to know?
I mean, my farrier doesn’t need an axe to trim and shoe my horse....?
It was for killing wounded horses
The Farriers carry the axe at Trooping The Colour etc.
Hyde Park Barracks ( aka Knightsbridge Barracks, because of its location in Central London ) was rebuilt in 1970 as a modern, fully functioning cavalry barracks, complete with riding school, accommodation block in the form of a 92m high tower, messes , stables ( these are mucked out daily ), armoury and repair facilities, and everything else that a military barracks nowadays has.
The khaki uniform was the old Battle Dress, ( BD ) a pretty rough-haired, but functional, uniform which was worn in barracks or in the field. It was not uncommon for Officers and SNCO'S to shave down the excess hair on the uniform to give it a slightly smoother look. Everything was highly pressed, including the arms and sleeves. The blouse ( top ) could be buttoned up to the neck or left open according to Regimental tradition. This coarse uniform was replaced in the mid 60's by Number 2 Dress, which is still in use today, looking more like a suit instead of the old 'stack of sh*t' BD.😁
The Household Division still have Master Tailors as the uniforms are expensive, intricate and have to be well maintained for the hundreds of Foot Guards and Household Cavalry who require to be turned out in good order for State and ceremonial duties in London and elsewhere in UK. The tailor chalking the uniform was for a fitting where he noted where minor adjustments have to be made to ensure a good fit.
Household Cavalry Officers and soldiers rotate between the Mounted Regiment in London and its Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment in Bulford for operations. So, one soldier, two roles.
The Khaki uniform being worn is not Battledress or BD. It's Service Dress,the precursor to BD and on general issue to the Army from before the First World War until the issue of BD in 1937. Many units were still wearing SD in France in 1940. The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment wore it until the 1960s. It's last vestige is the SD cap, worn by the Military Police until the 1970s and still worn by the Household Cavalry.
Well spotted Terrier78, SD it is indeed. I believe it was still issued to various Boys units until the early ‘60’s in fact. I suspect the HC retained it after BD was introduced solely for reasons of smartness, it did look pretty good when tailored and pressed!
You may be interested in checking out the only private army still in existence, the Atholl Highlanders.
Pinks and greens are very classy. Glad to see them back.
Find a series called In the highest tradition, its a bit dated as from the 80s but looks at the traditions and oddities of the different British Army Infantry and Cavalry regiments
I agree with you about the Army reintroducing a tunic to the uniform. I don’t think the Army would go for service wide but I think they would fit for ceremonial units like The Old Guard
Can you react to Victoria Cross Heroes? its 4 vids on youtube! very interesting.
There used to be a Guards depot where all seven guards regiments trained together, I went there in 1971 and it was the same then as in this video.
czcams.com/video/Y9hE8IGdxvk/video.htmlsi=kZdXVgvT7rFWhafA
I wonder what the uniform is worth now….
The soldier swinging the sack over his head is trying to catch as many flys as possible before the horses come out so as to not disturb the horses 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
The guy swinging the loaded towel in the beginning could simply be exercising. It looks like a good power/flexibility move for the shoulders which would prove useful for anyone who had to wield a sword.
My father served in the Blues & Royals in the early 50's & was escort to HM the Queen during her coronation. As for the Trooper swinging the bag this is a way of cleaning the chain that you see hanging around the neck of the horse. It is covered in cleaner & wrapped in a sack as it is swung around it cleans the chain effectively.
Britain, today, would still gain better value for taxpayer's money by consigning this pageant to history and replacing it with another Brigade of Royal Marines Commandos
With ceremony comes income and tourism. One of the things we do best is Ceremony. They do light mechanized reconnaissance as well.