Troops from Catterick Garrison-based 5 Regiment Royal Artillery have begun a once in a lifetime opportunity to guard Her Majesty The Queen’s Royal Palaces during her Platinum Jubilee year.
The prestigious honour will see the men and women of 5 Regiment Royal Artillery take over the Queen’s Guard from the iconic bearskin cap-wearing Guardsmen of the Foot Guards at the beginning of the Platinum Diamond Jubilee this Monday.
As the Accession Day anniversary Guns fire across the capital, The Yorkshire Gunners will be taking up their positions as the Queen’s Guard at Buckingham Palace.
Ceremonial experts from the Household Division trained the Gunners for weeks to learn the complex drill manoeuvres and tasks involved in this historic duty.
Their hard work and attention to detail was placed under the spotlight yesterday by the expert judges of the Household Division who determined whether the Royal Artillery unit had reached the required standard of excellence for Public Duties.
The fit for role parade inspection took place at the home of the Guards in London, Wellington Barracks on Birdcage Walk, just a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace.
The Household Division’s Brigade Major and the Garrison Sergeant Major checked uniforms, bearing, drill and the soldiers’ ability to remember dozens of new oral commands specific to the job.
Battery Sergeant Major (BSM) Terri Wood will command the Queen’s Guard on Monday. BSM Wood has served in the Army for nearly two decades.
She said: “It will be an honour to Guard some of the most iconic locations in London and Windsor, especially during Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee year.
“We are looking forward to representing the Royal Artillery and taking on a challenge that is quite different to our day to day activities.”
Soldiers from 5 Regiment Royal Artillery are part of the Army’s Surveillance and Target Acquisition regiment and are highly deployable with unique skills.
As part of the Future Soldier programme, they will soon transition to the newly formed Deep Recce Strike Brigade Combat Team, a central focus for the Army’s reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities with the opportunity for soldiers to train with state-of-the-art counter fires and surveillance equipment.
Soldiers from 5 Regiment Royal Artillery are currently deployed across the globe on exercises and operations in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
Ceremonial Public Duties are a world away from their regular jobs, training for or on operations around the world, so finding themselves representing their cap badge and the Army not only front of house, but in front of the most famous house in Britain, Buckingham Palace, on this most auspicious Jubilee year, is an experience these soldiers will treasure forever.
