Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo 2010
The Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo is held over the course of a week in the Queen's private grounds at Windsor Castle. It was first held in 2008 and quickly became one of the premier events in British military pageantry, along with the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Trooping of the Colour, and the Royal International Air Tattoo.
The 2010 Windsor Tattoo celebrated three anniversaries: 70 years since The Battle of Britain; 350 years since the raising of The Household Cavalry; and 150 years of the Cadet Movement. It consisted of four night time performances from 12th to 15th May.
The programme included:
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House Band - The Royal Artillery Orchestra
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The Musical Drive of The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery
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Massed Pipes and Drums accompanied by Military Sword Dancers featuring
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Queens Royal Hussars
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Royal Dragoon Guards
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Royal Tank Regiment
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Irish Guards
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The Black Watch
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3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
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1st Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles
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Pipes and Drums of The Royal Air Force
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Pipes and Drums of Christchurch City, New Zealand
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4. Royal Marines of 45 Commando Arbroath Scotland Firefight
5. His Majesty the Kings Guards Norway Band and Drill Team
6. The Musical Ride of The Household Cavalry
7. The Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, Collingwood
8. The Royal Navy Field Gun Competition and The Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, Collingwood
9.The Central Band of the RAF who are commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain
10.The Massed Bands featuring The Welsh Guards, The Scots Guards and The Band and Bugles of The Rifles
11. Thank you to the Troops
12. Finale
Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo 2010
Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo 2010 - Massed Pipes and Drums
For us, the Tattoo was noteworthy for three reasons. The first was the venue, which could hardly have been more impressive or historically significant. Second, a different member of the Royal Family was salute taker at each performance. Band members had the privilege of being introduced to all these salute takers, which included the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. The third feature was the pomp and pageantry of the cast, which included the British Army's oldest and most senior regiments: the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals, which, together, comprise the Household Cavalry, the Queen's personal bodyguard.
The use of horses throughout this tattoo raised the show to a higher level compared to other similar events around the world. Of particular note was the choreography of The Musical Drive of the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery. This involved 68 horses performing intricate manoeuvres at a gallop while pulling six one-and-a-half ton World War One guns. The scissors' movement where the whole Troop criss crossed at speed was exquisitely well-timed and must have had most of the audience sitting on the edge of their seats.
The Tattoo was run in conjunction with the Windsor Royal Horse Show, which was held during the day on the same arena. The Horse Show was impressive. It featured everything from ponies to work horses and the events ranged from a Shetland pony steeplechase to carriage races. The horsemanship was of the highest standard, and the animals were magnificently groomed and well-behaved.
The Tattoo participants stayed at various military bases in and around London. We were lodged in the Ypres barracks at RAF Uxbridge, along with the King of Norway's Guards Band and Drill Team, and the 2nd Battalion Royal Ghurkha Rifles.
RAF Uxbridge was headquarters of XI Squadron, which was responsible for the defence of London and South East England during the Battle of Britain. The large underground complex from which Sir Keith Park (himself a New Zealander) directed the RAF fighter squadrons against the Luftwaffe is one of its more interesting historical gems. It is not usually open to the public, but the curator was more than willing to give us a guided tour when he discovered that we were New Zealanders. His encyclopaedic knowledge brought the whole place alive for us.
The operations room was especially interesting. It was set up exactly as it had been on the night of 15th September 1940, when the RAF won the Battle of Britain in a huge air battle with the Luftwaffe that involved over 1,500 aircraft.
Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo 2010 - Royal Navy Field Gun Competition
High On A Hill
Our trip to Windsor almost did not take place. In the days and weeks before the Tattoo, a series of volcanic eruptions at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland filled the skies above much of Western Europe with a huge ash cloud. Air travel became too dangerous, and so flights were cancelled and airplanes grounded for extended periods. Fortunately, however, the eruptions faded away and the skies cleared just before our scheduled departure from Christchurch airport.
This was just as well because our two-week stay in England was an experience of a lifetime. Everyone did the 'tourist thing', taking every opportunity to experience the historical and cultural delights on offer. We toured Windsor Castle and other historic buildings, drank in 600-year pubs, enjoyed traditional English food, took delight in the fabulous scenery of the countryside and enjoyed the company of the people we met. Above all, it was a wonderful experience to participate in this splendidly produced tattoo where all the pomp and pageantry of the British Army was on full display.