41 Chances

I had 41 chances to get this shot -

It was after all a 41 gun royal salute by The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery for the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne, at noon in Hyde Park, London.

The first gun was so loud I nearly jumped out of my skin and didn't even press the button. The next dozen or so I tried to synchronise my shutter finger with the commands 'Ready..... Fire'. The flash from the guns was so short I only managed to capture two.

But, the day started much earlier - at 6 a.m. in fact, when my lovely friend (aka Sugar Daddy) collected me. We took the train to London, then a cab to the Kings Troop Barracks in St John's Wood. After 200 years of army occupation the barracks are closing and the troop is leaving to move to new barracks at Woolwich.

We watched the horses in their stalls being tacked up and being 'put to' the guns for the last time on the parade ground. The command to mount was given at 9.30. when the six gun teams and accompanying officers then left the Barracks. The flag was lowered, the last post sounded and finally there was an emotional locking of the gates by the Commanding Officer.

The full compliment rode to St John's Wood High Street, where the band played, speeches were made, and a huge crowd had gathered to wish them a fond farewell. They then rode, pulling the guns to Hyde Park, and after the salute continued on to the Wellington Barracks in Birdcage Walk. The troopers riding the gun horses finally dismounted at about 2 p.m. I felt a little sorry for the one young lad who admitted to having a 'few too many' last night, and had to ride a particularly naughty horse for that length of time.

We arrived at Hyde Park in time to see the gun teams galloping from Marble Arch to the shooting ground, the shots I took of this magnificent sight, enhanced further by the covering of snow, would have made an equally good blip.


The Kings Troop was formed in 1947, by King George VI, after the 2nd World War when the Royal Horse Artillery was to be disbanded, retaining six teams of horses to pull the 1918 era 13 pounder guns and perform ceremonial duties. However all the troop have to see active service and many today were wearing their Afghanistan medals.

I could talk at length about the gun teams, the history of the guns, the horses and the uniform, it is fascinating, but here are just a few facts.
Each team of 6 gun horses consists of two 'Wheelers' who are at the back and act as the brakes, in front of them is a pair of 'Centre' horses and then the 'Leaders'. The left hand horse of each pair is ridden.

The horses in each team are matched for colour, starting on the left of the parade ground with the bright bays and getting progressively darker until the team on the right with jet black horses. This black team are used for state funerals, and some today pulled the gun carriage on which the coffin of the Queen Mother was carried.

Historically, the colour coding of the horses helped mounted troops in the battlefield to find their own unit after a cavalry charge.

The uniform may look flamboyant, but each part has a dual emergency use for the battlefield, right down to the silvered buttons which could be used as musket shot in earlier times, and the troopers' hats could double up as a bucket to give their horses a drink.