ARMY PAGEANT

Hokitika Guardian, 20 July 1936, Page 7

ARMY PAGEANT

ALDERSHOT TATTOO. MAGNIFICENT SPECTACLE. LONDON July 14. Aldershot is not lacking in its historical associations this year, and it is not unnttmg, pe.haps, at a moment when no i oyal person holds the title of Prince of Wales, that the- presentation ot the first rnnce to the Welsh people by. Edward 1, as Carnarvon Castle should have been re-enacted at the famous annua. Tattoo. It was one of the most spectacular moments 01 an entertainment that is a spectacle purely and simply, and it provided the preliminary to the grand finale when 5000 men, dressed in uniforms of all periods, stream into the 11-acre arena, with its background of -trees. With this host of trained men, grouped in orderly array, facing the spectators and with the long lines oi the physical training squads bearing lighted torches, the flood lights, \ver6 lowered. Coloured rays splashed' out from searchlights at the various vantage points in the stands aV.f, 'with the ■x-*-. sharp points of light glittering from the instruments of the huge massed regimental bands, the first notes of 1 “Abide-- with Me,’’ : stole out to the j audience through the midnight air. No | more fitting finale could be imagined' as the soothing tones of the hymn pro- 1 vided a sharp ; contrast to the deep- j throated roar of guns and the crackle of old-fashioned musketry that had not long preceded this impressive setting. , Tt was this rapid comparison of the old-fashioned and present day weapons used by the British Army that pro- j vided one of the more awesome, and, at the same time, amusing moments - ' of the Tattoo. The days of the muzzle leading rifle are but h?,zy notions in , the mind of the average man to-day, and the extraordinary period of time required to load those weapons is still more hazy. J a m A Striking Contrast. j ' . I Two regiments of infantry of the nineteenth century, in their picture-' sque costumes, performed the compli- : eated exercises which involved the firing of the old-fashioned rifles. Three or four minutes elapsed as the infantrymen obeyed the commands issued through a loud speaker, and then! spurts of flame flashed out, follower* i by. an irregular crackling and streamUing waves of gunpowder smoke. In striking contrast was the company of the present day infantry, their khaki uniforms providing a drab contrast to the colourful clothes worn by j

our great-grandfathers. But their arms, like their uniforms, were equally more practical, and three volleys rang out from the modefn rifles in the time required for the old muzzle-load-ers to receive their qtiota of powder and shot. Artillery, Past and Present. Still greater in contrast was the roar of the mechanised batteries of 18pounders, 60-pounders, and 6-inch howitzers with the artillery of 100 years ago. While horses unlimbered the guns and retired to a discreet distance, the tanks and tractors remained attached to the modern weapons. There was a laugh as the early models were “sponged,” and the soldiers with ramrods drove home the charges. There was frank joviality.as they “fired,” the popping of the reports resembling, in the distance, the opening of monster champagne bottles. It was in no ■ laughing mood, however, that the roar and faint' concussion of the modern weapons were received. Many frankly placed their hands to their ears and sympathised with the infant bawling! in protest. A solitary rabbit, disturbed from its slumbers, bobbed out to ' the arena and then scuttled back to its burrow, restoring the previous jovial mood and relieveing temporary awe. i . - [ The Phantom Squadron. ’ j Modern troops were again seen in • action as a cavalry squadron returned ; from the “line,” indicated in the dis- I 1 tanc-e by Verey lights, shell flashes and chattering machine-guns. 'After, pre- i sumably, a. hard day’s .fighting, the, troops settled down for a night’s rest, : rugging their mounts and using the * saddles for pillows. An impressive sight j was the appearance, while they slept, [ of the Phantom Squadron, headed by the mounted cavalry hands of six regi--1 ments playing “The Vanished Army,” while the searchlights picked out the 1 colours of their uniforms. They marched round the sleeping men and the horse lines, lit up by the red glow of ■ camp fires, and faded away in the dis- | tance to the strains of “Auld Lang j Syne.” ' j I This was the signal for a hoard of present-day “cavalrymen,”- seated in trucks, to make their appearance, purring after the Phantom Squadron with startling rapidity and then dashing , hack as the alarm was given and the guns roared back a counter-attack. The cavalrymen picked themselves and , ! their saddles up and continued with i the “war.” The Massed Bands. * i After these displays of the realities of Army life, the massed mounted and ■ dismounted bands of the Aldershot

and Eastern Commands appeared, claimed in confidential strain by the programme to be the “greatest pageant of army musicians ever seen.” While the bands were marching, the huge gates of “Carnarvon Castle” rolled slowly open and a company bearing lighted torches streamed slowly into the arena, resembling nothing so much as a large gleaming caterpillar. Five minutes later the company was divided round and among the bands. The lights were lowered and the mass of men marched through the gloom to their conductor, the rays from the torches twinkling in a hundred different points. The First Prince of Wales. A sharp contrast was the splattering fire of the British Infantry, as Sir Archibald Campbell’s expedition, which proceeded up the Irrawaddr to Rangoon in 1824, attacked the Burmese stockades by cannon fire from three vessels and then by rifle fire. The army of those, days, incidentally, fought in full dress under tropical conditions an irksome necessity not fully appreciated perhaps by the modern soldier playing his part in the cold night air. Other scenes were provided by physical training squads drilling in time to “The Music Goes Round ana ’Round” and “Dancing to Cheek.” A weird effect, after the masses of men, were the evolutions of electric lanterns, blue, yellow and red, in the pitch darkness. They, too, disappeared into the yawning gates of “Carnarvon Castle,” while the massed bands, invisible in the darkness, played “The General's Fast Asleep,” a suggestion that was not without a humorous appeal to the crowds. Caparisoned knights, gaily attired archers and men-at-arms, numbering 3000 in all, formed a picturesque group as the time-honoured legend of the presentation of the first Prince of Wales to the Welsh chieftains at Carnarvon Castle in 1248 was enacted. It was a great heraldic picture as Edward, with the aid of loud-speakers, presented the infant to the kneeling people, beneath the blazing motto “I Serve.” Once more the gates of the “Castle” opened and through them streamed every performer to ’ take his place in the finale. The National Anthem was played well after midnight, an hour for which the thousands who flook to the Tattoo pay scant respect, and who regard the two-hour return journey with equanimity. *