Beating Retreat has its historical base on the military fields when, at the end of the day, the beating of the drum was used to order the troops to stop fighting and retreat to the safety of camp as darkness fell.
In the 1690's the tradition of Beating Retreat expanded into the form of pageantry and music concerts.
A military Tattoo is a bit more - it is Beating Retreat plus a complex display that can feature bands from a number of different units, military drill displays, riding and reenactment of battle scenes. It culminates with the sounding of the Tattoo (or Last Post).
Today it is part of the Queen's official birthday celebrations and takes place at Horse Guard Parade for two nights.
It still consists of an evening pageant of music and military drill including horses, canon and fireworks. At the end of the display a representative of the Royal family takes the salute.
This year, 2015, marked the 200 year anniversary of the defeat of Napoleon by the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo.
So Beating Retreat was an extra special display of pageantry to commemorate the significant battle.
The battle was reenacted with troops representing Britain and her allies defeating the French at Waterloo.
It was pomp and pageantry to the max - something the British do so well.
It made me feel very proud.
Oh wait, I'm not British!
None the less, it was a stirring performance and gave a very small taste of being on the battlefield 200 years ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment