Contributed by Reg HARPER (51A)
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Which of you has not felt his
breast swell with patriotic pride at the sight of one of The British Army has always been renowned throughout an admiring world as an “army of regiments”, each fiercely jealous of its own proud traditions and its spirit of independence within the context of a splendidly disciplined military organization which has been occasionally equaled but never excelled by our continental rivals. On battlefield or parade ground, the British soldier is second to none. His loyalty to his regiment, his comrades and his commander, is direct and immediate, and engenders a strong sense of morale. His oath of allegiance to the Sovereign represents a bond of loyalty sanctified by custom, tradition and martial honour. These potent symbols are much admired abroad, where soldiers swear allegiance to soulless republican constitutions, worthless pieces of paper which are ripped to shreds with every political upheaval. In some states, wedded to
pacifist ideals, army morale is sapped by a lack of political respect for
military tradition. Meanwhile everywhere, even in the stable environment of a
staunch ally like the Revolutions and invasions have
shattered the once-proud regiments of continental The music of the regiments,
too, is full of the romance of history. The oldest regiment in the army, The
Royal Scots (known as “Pontius Pilate’s Own”) have the oldest regimental
march, dating back to the 17th century. Both the Grenadier Guards
and the old Buffs (now the Queen’s Regiment) claimed march tunes written by
the mighty Handel, while the famous march of the Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders, “The Thin Red Line”, commemorates that regiment’s valiant stand
against the Russian Imperial cavalry at The original “Thin Red Line” – the Argyll
and Sutherland Highlanders at |
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Is all this glorious heritage now to be vanquished, not by the honourable sword of a conqueror, but by the limp-wristed stroke of some politician’s pen? If so, we may be sure of one thing: while the one political hand abolishes ancient regiments or merges them into meaningless new formations of a European Army, the other will enthusiastically authorize vast new regiments of politicians, bureaucrats and “thought police”. This is the “peace dividend” we have been told to await with bated breath! And what peace, you may well
ask? Do you remember, not so very long ago, when a prominent world leader
hailed a “new order” (and where have I heard that expression before) of global peace? Within months we had
been plunged into the nightmare of The peace of the world is as much in danger now as ever before, and still our politicians plan to decimate our regiments! Heads in the sand, jobs for the boys – and damn the consequences! It is time for the British people to show that they are made of sterner stuff than their so-called leaders. Our brave soldiers have seen us through thick and thin. Now the time has come for us to stand beside them and declare unequivocally to our time-serving politicians … NO ARMY CUTS! No Regimental amalgamations! The shades of our warrior ancestors watch with apprehension. Shall we ever dishonour their memory? We cannot, we must not fail them now! MICHAEL KEITH SMITH |
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