Today Trooping the Colour gathers crowds of tourists; along with the pomp and ceremony it is an event filled with tradition that spans many hundreds of years. In that history lies duty, a call to arms, and a rallying in battle. The regimental colours were presented to the soldiers daily so that they would recognize it in the melee of battle and rally toward it. In 1748 the Grenadier Guards began this tradition, also called the Kings Birthday Parade, which is now held annually at Horse Guards Parade in London. Boots, buckles and busbies gleaming, formations perfect and eyes right, Trooping the Colour is the culmination of months of hard work by the staff of the London District and the Royal Household, without whom state ceremonial and public duties would not exist. From regimental bands and gun salutes to Lord Lieutenants and Yeoman, it is the personalities and traditions that make the history of ceremonial duties so colourful. Trooping the Colour describes the histories of the key personalities and units of the London District, the Royal Household. Their histories are intertwined in one of the most complex narratives of the modern age. It describes the numerous moments, stories and traditions behind the many appointments that produce some of the most awe-inspiring displays now taken for granted. The book examines those defining moments in contemporary British history when planning and experience have delivered breathtaking spectacles of grandeur enjoyed by billions of people around the globe. Though it's not all parades and pomp though, these fine regiments have served with distinction in battles across the world and through time. This book explores London's Ceremonial Regiments at war and on parade. AUTHOR: Ben Skipper is a freelance feature writer with over 100 articles published on art, military and field sports subjects. He is an associate member of the Pen and Sword Club (military journalists and writers), a Freeman of the City of London and the Company of Communicators, a full member of the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists and the NUJ. Ben is an avid modeller and writer of twentieth-century military subjects. His interest in British armour was cemented by a visit to the King's Royal Hussars in the early 1990s as an undergraduate in the Territorial Army. He then joined the RAF, clocking up air miles in a range of RAF transport aircraft including the VC10 and C-17. 32 colour illustrations
