The Sovereign's Parade, April 1985

first is a look this way then gentlemen this is it your final parade at Sandhurst there are many good reasons for making this the greatest parade that's ever been seen at the academy first our queen will be pleasant secondly for your family and friends many of whom have come a long way today to be with you thirdly for the stop god knows have been patient with you waiting for this day to arrive but most of all for you because this is your day a day that you'll remember for the rest of your lives finally ladies and gentlemen I would like to take this last opportunity of wishing each and every one of you Godspeed and good fortune and well I sincerely believe to be an honorable career dr. Pratt the sovereigns parade takes place at the Royal Military Academy three times a year today's parade is particularly significant because the salute is being taken by Her Majesty the Queen this will be the third occasion Her Majesty has been present the last being in 1965 normally the Queen is represented at the parades by another member of the royal family or a very senior officer Her Majesty is accompanied by the Commandant of Sandhurst Major General Richard Keith ex v Ennis killin Dragoon Guards the parade receives Her Majesty with the Royal salute the parade today is commanded by Major Julien Lancaster MBE Scots Guards his charger Alexander is unquestionably the most experienced on parade today he's been the adjutant charger since 1920 it's been traditional at Sandhurst since the end of World War two for the Air Jordans charger to be a very light gray the Magister will now inspect the parade the traditions upon which Sandhurst is founded go back over two centuries in 1812 the building which is now called old building and which is the backdrop to today's parade was opened to Train gentlemen cadets for the cavalry infantry and later the Indian Army and this continued until general mobilisation in 1939 during the war Sandhurst became an officer cadet training establishment where potential officers carried out a short course in 1947 Sandhurst reopened with the task of training all regular officers for the army in 1972 sound Hurst also took on the training of help service officers and in 1981 the officer training element of the women's Royal Army Corps came under command of the Academy the aim of Sandhurst has remained unchanged throughout its long history to transform a young man both physically and mentally so that he's fit to lead soldiers in peace and war hence the motto worn on the cap badge of all students serve to lead the first post Second World War parsing out parade was taken by his late Majesty King George the 6th in July 1948 following the parade the King decreed that in future it would be known as the sovereigns parade since then 19,000 535 young men have been commissioned from sound hosts as well as being accompanied on the inspection by the Commandant the Queen is also escorted by the Academy sergeant major wo1 Dennis Cleary he's the senior Warrant Officer in the British Army he became the Academy sergeant major in 1979 having previously been the regimental sergeant major for the 1st battalion the Irish Guards the inspecting party is preceded by to stick orderlies officer cadet butcher and officer cadet Dennison it's a great honor to be selected as a stick orderly for our appointed they're chosen for their bearing smartness and all-round ability their names and those of their predecessors are inscribed on the canes they carry and include many famous men one of note being the actor the late David Niven the Queen is also sported by her aquarii Lieutenant Colonel Blair Stewart Wilson Scots Guards who was himself on parade as an officer cadet when the Queen took the salute on her first parade as Princess Elizabeth in July 1949 Church does the 15-footer number fifteen platoon Normandy company new college will now march forward to receive the sovereigns banner the banner is presented to the new sovereign splatoon which comes from the Junior Division of the standard military course the sovereigns platoon is chosen after competitions in grill orienteering and shooting and a cross-country race designed to bring out the best in endurance and teamwork from the officer cadets Sandhurst today runs a variety of courses and I would like to take this opportunity as the sovereigns platoon designate marches into position to receive the banner to mention the two main ones the standard military course which lasts for 28 weeks is attended by all male non-graduates the course provides a central instruction in leadership tactics map reading signals and skeletons drill administration and organization between two and four and a half years after leaving scientists regular officers and short service offices converting to a regular Commission returned to Sanders to attend the 14 week regular career course the aim of this is to lay a foundation of professional academic knowledge for non graduate officers male graduate officers attend the standard graduate course of 28 weeks duration this is a mix of the syllabuses of the standard military course and the regular career course but much compressed the graduates join the course as probationary second of tenants and on successful completion of the course their Commission's are confirmed and together with the non graduates they leave to join their regiments or attend special two armed courses the sovereigns platoon is commanded by junior under officer ruff the best student of the standard military course who will later in the parade receive the sword of Honor from Her Majesty the banner carried today was presented by the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 1978 the platoon which will bear the banner which is only lowered to the reigning sovereign is called by Her Majesty's wish the sovereigns platoon the banner is carried by junior under officer Swire who is being commissioned today into the Grenadier Guards the two escorts are officer cadet Mason Smith and officer cadet Gib the banner is handed to the Academy sergeant major as can be seen the academy sergeant major sword is drawn this is the only occasion apart from the Queen's Birthday parade when this is done by a sergeant major on parade the Academy sergeant major hands the banner to officer cadet Jackson who hopes to be commissioned into the Royal Signals when he's commissioned in August this part of the parade is regarded as a private ceremony for the sovereigns platoon this is therefore one occasion when the rest of the parade does not salute when the national anthem is played the sovereigns banner will now be trooped along the ranks of the Junior Division the standard military course and the standard graduate doors are the major courses run at Sandhurst but in addition and of great importance are the other courses principally the women's Royal Army Corps attend a course of 25 weeks duration this course is aligned with a standard graduate course and some joint training is carried out which includes all of the Professional Studies the course is attended by both graduates and non graduates other shorter courses of two to four weeks a run to cater for those seeking short service limited commissions for probationary territorial army officers and for officers with professional qualifications joining such cause as the Royal Army Medical Corps the Royal army chaplains Department the army legal services and others this part of the parade is similar to the Queen's birthday parade which takes place every summer on Horse Guards Parade in London the trooping of the color ceremony can be traced back as far as 1591 colours were used as a rallying point for regiments hence it was of great importance that all ranks were familiar with their own colours it was therefore important that they were seen close to hence the troop through the ranks the parade led by the senior division then march has passed Her Majesty in slow time as the parade steps off the half companies form divisions into column and then wheel into line for the March past this drill now used throughout the army originated at Sandhurst to overcome the restriction of the small size of the parade ground here also on parade are the queens and regimental colors of Sandhurst colors were first presented to the Royal Military Academy in 1813 by Her Majesty Queen Charlotte the colors that you see on parade today were presented in 1974 by Her Majesty the Queen the sovereigns banner is lowered this is the first time this banner has ever been lowered since it was presented to the Academy in 1978 as it's only lowered to the reigning sovereign the drum indicates the change of pace to the parade and they will now march past in quick time the band on parade today is found by the Scottish division and is from the King's Own Scottish Borders and the Queens and Highlanders up until August last year Sandhurst had its own band but this very sampler was disbanded and now a band is posted to Sandhurst for each 14 week term so this is the last parade for the band as well as for those students being commissioned the parade prepares to advance in review order this part of the parade is based on a tactical manual for the infantry produced in 1780 by one David Dundas 18 maneuvers were laid down designed to combat the tactical moves of the enemy both in attack and defense every unit had to perform these maneuvers each year before a reviewing General the 18th and last maneuver was the attack in line and consisted of an advance followed by a volley to the right and a volley to the left a further advance followed by two volleys to the front but on parade ending with the present arms it's this maneuver which remains as a part of British ceremonial to mark those grand days the parade is then stood at ease prior to being given an address by Her Majesty the Queen who on completing it presents the four major prizes made to those being commissioned each prize denotes outstanding qualities in those concerned Jr under officer ruff he was born and brought up in Rhodesia Zimbabwe and served for two years in the register light infantry he arrived in England six years ago he's being commissioned into the REOC and is soon to start the Royal Marine Commando course with a view to then joining the Royal Marine REOC Company he retains the sword which is of the Patton used by his call second lieutenant Pope he went up to Jesus College Cambridge as an Army Cadet he read economics and achieved an honours degree he's to be commissioned into the Royal Signals his first posting is to the Queen's Gurkha Signal Regiment in Hong Kong the Queen's medal is presented to the best student officer of the standard graduate course it's a personal award of the Queen's the medal is made of gold and is inscribed cadet corporal Mead he became interested in the army whilst at school in Jamaica and achieved the rank of wo2 in the CCF he holds a private pilot's licence there are 40 overseas cadets on parade from 23 countries cadets from 63 countries have attended Santas courses of these three are currently heads of state Jordan Oman and Brunei officer cadet Vickers she's being posted to command of wrec platoon in Ryan Dulin in West Germany her father is a previous Commandant of Sandhurst he won the sword of honor when a cadet the beach brown sash of silk has been awarded since 1950 when the WRC uniform changed from khaki to today's Lovett green at that stage Sam Browne belts were replaced by sashes the parade pays its final compliment to Her Majesty Oh may I have your permission the colors the banner in the senior divisions to marshal those having their Commission's confirmed and those being commissioned March off parade to old lang syne the junior division will be commissioned at the next parade present arms as their seniors march up the steps of our building the last leave is the attribute following a custom started in 1925 by the then adjutant general boy browning there are numerous stories surrounding this custom one story is that it was an extremely wet parade and he didn't see why everyone else should get under cover and why he could not he therefore decided that the quickest way to get out of the rain was to ride up the steps of the grand entrance the parade's second-in-command captain Phillip Dimmick Welsh Guards takes command of the parade the sovereign's platoon march off parade with the banner which will remain in their safekeeping until the next commissioning parade our Magister leaves the parade I'm sure all on parade today we'll remember her address particularly those being commissioned when she said when you march up the steps remember with pride those who have passed that way before you are now taking over from them the task of maintaining the effectiveness of the British Army in peace and war I place that trust in you with confidence my prayers for your success and safety will follow you wherever you may be called upon to serve

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Length: 32min 23sec (1943 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 15 2015