Friday 29 November 2019

Sunday 10 November 2019

Saltwell Park 2019 - Field of Remembrance


 IJ Saltwell Park 2019

Saltwell Park 2019


Saltwell Park 2019

Saltwell Park 2019
Other Conflicts Commemoration

Saltwell ParkField of Remembrance 2019
WW1 Commemoration Tree
 
===O===

 
 
In Memory of Private Matthew Stephenson
8th Battalion Durham Light Infantry
Lost as a POW on SS Scillin
14th November 1942
 
 
 
Commemorated on the  Alamein Memorial

Remembrance Sunday 2019


Remembrance Sunday Eldon Square 2019

Standard Bearers
Band 5RRF
Rest at Arms Reversed

Firing the light gun to mark the end of the two minute silence #RemembranceSunday #LestWeForget pic.twitter.com/roBxpegeHX
 
Wreath Laying
Service Representatives


Friday 4 October 2019

Film - Dowton Abbey

Visit to the cinema to see Downton Abbey. The movie is a story about the King and Queen of England visiting the Crawley family in their stately home.
 
The best part of the film is that it features Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery.
 
 
 




 







Tuesday 6 August 2019

Somme Battlefield Pipe Band - TS Visit

Visit from old friends of the Somme Battlefield Pipe Band (SBPB).

http://www.sommebattlefieldpipeband.com/home-news.php

 
The SPBP promotes the music and history of Scottish soldiers and their Regiments during their time in Northern France and the Somme Area in 1914/1918, and  during the second World War. 

 Many memorable occasions with the Somme Battlefield Pipe Band and the Tyneside Scottish.
 
----o----

Op Drum - Drum Ceremony

Ceremony held at Erquninghem Lys to receive the Catto Drum and return it back home to Tyneside. 

Op Drum 2012
SBPB Erquninghem-Lys

 Op Drum - Menin Gate Ceremony

Parading at the Menin Gate, counter marching under the archways and marching down the Meninstrasse to the sounds of  On the Road to Passchendaele.
 
Op Drum 201
SBPB Menin Gate Parade

 

Alnwick - Beating of Retreat

Beating of Retreat at Alnwick Castle forming massed bands of the Tyneside Scottish, Somme Battlefield and Northumbria ACF Pipe Bands, together with the military Northumbria ACF Casino Band. 
 
Alnwick Beating of Retreat 2015
SPBP march on

  

Tyneside Scottish Visit


The SPBP visited the Tyneside Scottish as they returned from their tour of Scotland. The band performed together with the Tyneside Scottish Pipers.
 
Somme Battlefield Pipe Band

Tyneside Scottish Pipers

SBPB and TS Pipers
SBPB Amelie (Drum) | SBPB Yves (Pipe Major) |  TS Billy  (Pipe Major)

 
 


Friday 19 July 2019

Aydon Castle


Aydon Castle is situated near Corbridge in Northumberland. It is positioned in a loop of the Cor Burn, which flows west to the River Tyne, the sides of which form a deep ravine. This makes an ideal defensive position with three sides of the castle having natural defences.

Aydon Castle

The location began to be fortified when war between England and Scotland broke out in 1296 and by 1315. It's location 30 miles from the Scottish Border would see it involved in the conflicts between England and Scotland that followed over the centuries.
 
Aydon Castle

Aydon Castle

Aydon Castle
Entrance Gate
Aydon Castle
Main Building

Aydon Castle
Battlements

Aydon Castle

The castle features the use of a catapults to defend it's self, Northumbrian Gunners 700 years ago ! 
 
Aydon Castle
Catapult positions
Aydon Castle
Catapult positions
Aydon Castle
Catapult positions

Aydon Castle
Catapult OP
Aydon Castle
Catapult position

Saturday 15 June 2019

Durham - 8 Rifles Sound Retreat

Sounding Retreat is a ceremony conducted by the Rifles based upon the practice of using bugles as a means of communication which dates back to the 16th Century.

Rifles Bugles Durham Market Square

The Rifles were formed in 2007, it's lineage includes the Light Infantry (formed in 1968) which brought together county Light Infantry Regiments, one of which was the Durham Light Infantry (DLI).



Durham Light Infantry Memorial
Durham Market Square



Sounding Retreat is the Rifles equivalent of Beating Retreat. The Beating Retreat originated in the 16th century and was used to recall troops back to their quarters. Drums were used as a mechanism for communication. Drum calls would be exchanged between the troops outside the barracks and their headquarters. The returning troops would beat the retreat as they returned. As drums as a means of communication fell out of use, the practice developed into a ceremony.

The Light Infantry Regiments used bugles, not drums, to communicate. They Sounded Retreat, an exchange of bugle calls.

Light Infantry Bugler

The 8 Rifles Sounding Retreat was performed on Castle Green, Durham by the Bugles of 8 Rifles, Durham ACF Cadet Band and Rifles Bugle Veterans.

Sounding Retreat Durham June 2019

Sounding Retreat Durham June 2019

Sounding Retreat Durham June 2019
 

 
 
Durham June 2019 IJ / DM