Whitehall and Downing Street, London

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Trooping the Colour is a yearly military ceremony carried out by fully trained and operational troops from the Household Division.
This ceremony dates back to the early eighteenth century, when the flags (colours) of the regiment were 'trooped' (carried) down the ranks so that they could be seen and recognised by each soldier. This parade also marked the Sovereign's official birthday.

The parade takes place on Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall. (The daily change of foot guards is at Buckingham Palace).
The troops involved come from the Household Division made up of five Regiments Foot Guards and two Regiments of the Household Cavalry
Only one colour (flag) can be trooped each year and it is done on rotation between the 5 Regiments of Foot Guards: Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh.

If you want to see a "trooping the colour" ceremony in London and have no link with the "Royals" you will be obliged to follow the somewhat complex formalities to obtain - most often not obtain - an invitation.
Applications to attend the Parade in the seated stands should be sent in January and February 2011 only to:
The Brigade Major, Headquarters Household Division, Horse Guards.
Whitehall, London SW1A 2AX.
Or telephone +44 (0)20 7414 2479 for further information.
The tickets, at £25.00 per seat, are ALLOCATED BY BALLOT in March.

Individuals without tickets can still see the processions from the Mall. The parade is also broadcast live on the BBC in the UK and retransmitted by some other countries TV's.

In 2006 my good friends (ref. my pages on Belgium, Ieper) of the Welsh Guards trooped the colour. Photos by courtesy of Welsh Guards Online (see also my travelogue).
2nd. Battalion Coldstream Guards was on the 2007 Parade.
The Trooping the Colour 2008 was perfect.
Adequate weather, the flag, the Dragon of the Welsh Guards, was the colour trooped on this June 14th, 2008. As you might know the Welsh Guards are my favourite regiment (re. the liberation of Brussels on Sept 4, 1944 - my page on the history of Belgium). You will recognize them at their badge on the collar: a silver leek.
The best moments were the quick march of the Foot Guards and the sitting trot of the Cavalry.
I remarked, with pleasure, that the commander of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery was a woman; not easy for her to bark orders over that huge parade ground.

On Saturday 13th June 2009 the Colour has been trooped by 1st Battalion Irish Guards.
Perfect parade as usual. Remarkable voice of the commanding officer. I wonder how many decibels he developed when shouting his orders. In 2010 the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards were parading their flag colour.
In 2011 the Colour will be Trooped by 1st Battalion Scots Guards.

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When I prepared my summer 2008 trip to London and browsed through many of the VT pages, I was deligthed to see that Mariajoy wrote about bath & wash houses in Hampstead. So I have put it on my wishlist, but finally didn’t go to Hampstead (maybe next time), as I found a beautiful building of a former public bath & wash house in Great Smith Street, just behind Dean’s Yard. It is hard to imagine for us inhabitants of the “industrialised” part of the world (what a horrible word….) that only 100 years ago many inhabitants in the commencing industrialised parts of our planet didn’t have the water supply in their homes as we have today. So it was most natural to open publich baths with facilities to wash laundry as well. In the Museum of London should be a detailed exhibition of these days and the idea of bath houses, however, this part is closed for renovation until 2010. So the only options to see these old bath houses are to walk around in London and look out for them.
The one in Great Smith Street was designed by J.F. Smith at the end of 19th century and is located next to the former Westminster Public Library. Sadly it is no longer in use but houses a real estate agency (I think).

Coordinates on GoogleEarth:
51°29’50,53’’N; 00°07’46,44’’W

Guarded by mounted soldiers, the Horse Guards is the home of the Troopers of the Household Cavalry. Each day at 11am, (Sundays are at 10.00 - confirm before travelling) there is a Changing of the Guard ceremony. The ceremony is similar to the pomp of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, although not as grand, but is very popular amongst tourists to London.
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Downing Street is the home of the British Primeminster at 10 Downing Street and the Chancellor of the Exchequer at number 11. It was once possible to walk through Downing Street but due to terrorist attacks and the constant threat of these, the street is now gated and guarded by armed policemen.
However you can stand at the gates and look in to the street as the photo shows. Of course on some days you may even see famous politicians or world leaders come through the gates in official cars.
10 Downing Street is the dark building in the photo.

Ah, politics, politics, always politics.

I have just constructed a seperate tip on the Cenotaph in London, a monument to the dead initially of the Great War but latterly come to represent the dead of all conflicts. I had to tiptoe round issues of the legitimacy of war, current British military activities etc. Now, i come to write a tip on another monument, not 200 yards from the Cenotaph, and I find myself tiptoeing again. Those of you who have met me will know that I am a large and rather ungainly man, and tiptoeing really isn't my thing, so I will try to present a balanced view and hope I do not offend either individual readers or the VT staff. Neither could be further from my intention.

The monument in question is dedicated to the "Women of World War II" and is situated, as I say, in the middle of Whitehall which places it not far from the Prime Ministers official residence in Downing Street also not far from Parliament in Whitehall. I will deal with the specifics first and then try to deal in a measured way with the politics.

The title of this tip is "a fairly new addition". This is true, the statue being unveiled by HM the Queen on July 9th 2005. Obviously, Her Majesty served herself as a young woman then. It is made to the design of John W. Mills, is 22 feet high and cost a sizeable one million pounds sterling. The typeface used in the lettering is, we are told, that used on wartime ration books and the clothing you can see depicted on the memorial represent some of the many uniforms worn by women in various services during that conflict.

Now, here is where the politics rears it's ugly head. The monument has come in for criticism on equality grounds. There is no specific monument to males who were far and away the largest proportion of British victims of the Second World War. Whether rightly or wrongly, in the 1940's women were not allowed combat roles, although obviously many served with huge distinction and courage in covert roles in occupied Europe, often at great personal risk and in other dangerous occupations. Women worked in munitions factories, ran public transport etc. etc. because basically all the men were away fighting. Undoubtedly, women played a vital role on the "home front" although some would suggerst that the extremely prominent positioning of this monument represents the power of the 21st century feminist lobby. If you walk down Whitehall, you will see what I mean by prominent.

Supporters of the monument would suggest that, because of the nature of society during the Second world War, women were overlooked in recognition for what they did. For what it is worth, I think it is an aesthetically pleasing monument and very moving. The helmets and coats suggest to me a coatrack outside an Ops Room somewhere during the Blitz, or some similarly precarious position. I do, however, wonder if £1 million was required. Would a less ostentatious memorial costing, perhaps £500,000 and the remainder going to charities supporting what are now elderly ladies, have been more appropriate? I should declare an interest here and say that two of my aunts served in the WAAF during that conflict.

Hopefully I have not transgressed VT's strict and absolutely correct rules on politics here, but I feel that it is impossible to provide a proper view for the visitor without at least mentioning these things. Whether you agree with it or not, it is there and it is worth a visit.

I am not sure whether I have mentioned in my various VT pages that I was in the British Army, I know I have definitely mentioned it in forum replies. It is, generally speaking, not relevant to tips on a travel site but I feel it merits mention here, and I am going to have to tread carefully whilst writing this tip as it is an emotive subject, namely that of war and death.

Every year, on the Sunday in November nearest to the 11th, there is an Act of Remembrance presided over by the Monarch and observed in London. It is replicated in most towns and villages across the country as old service personnel from many different campaigns parade with their medals ond berets and regimental ties, and youth associations and just about every other body show their respect for the dead. The focal point for the ceremony in London is the Cenotaph which stands in the middle of Whitehall, not far from the Prime Ministers official residence at Downing Street and a short walk from Parliament at Westminster, so it really is at the heart of the city.

You may not be aware why it is the nearest Sunday to 11th November, so I shall explain. The First World War, or Great War as it was then called, officially came to an end with the German surrender and ended at 1100 hours on 11th November 1918, making it the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The crux of the Act of Remembrance is a two minute silence observed at this time. There then follows a marchpast of old soldiers, sailors, airmen and numerous other organisations. I attend every year and it is extremely moving. I shall construct a travelogue in relation to this ceremony when I have time. If you are in London on that day, I do recommend you go, you can just turn up and line the route.

If, however, you are in London on any of the other 364 days of the year, I still recommend you visit the Cenotaph. There was an Allied Victory Parade in 1919 on the first anniversary of the Armistice but the structure you see now had not been constructed so a wood and plaster structure, designed by Sir Edward Lutyens, did duty. Lutyens later designed this permanent structure which is made of Portland stone.

Whilst originally intended to commemorate the dead of the Great War, obviously there have been many, many more conflicts since, notably the Second World War, again with horrific loss of life. The Cenotaph now serves as a national focus for the dead of all conflicts and it is worth visiting to remember the historic and ongoing sacrifices made.

On a practical level, be careful when trying to get that good picture. Remember, the Cenotaph is situated in the middle of a busy road and I have seen a few near misses with people taking photos in the most idiotic places.

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London is rightly famous for it's ceremonial occasions, many of them originating centuries ago, and rightly so in my opinion. It may sound a touch jingoistic but I think we do them rather well. The scene of some of the most impressive of these is Horseguards, which stand to the rear of Whitehall and facing St. James Park. Most people will have seen pictures or TV coverage of the Trooping of the Colour, when the Sovereign review her troops and their colours (flags). The troops you see on these occasions are footguards (think red tunics and tall furry headgear) and horseguards (think long shiny riding boots and breastplates). They are, as the name suggests, the sovereigns bodyguard, although nowadays they all have more conventional military roles as well. Most guards are light armoured now.

Even when there is not a ceremonial going on, Horseguards is still worth a visit, as it is steeped in history. The open space which you can see in the photos was originally the tiltyard, or exercise yard for horseguards stationed in the guardhouse of Whitehall Palace which was destroyed by fire in 1698. A new building was obviously required and was built in a grand Palladian style, as you see, to the design of William Kent in 1751 - 1753. for centuries, the very term "Horseguards" was synonymous with control of the Army as it was the headquarters of the General Staff. In the 19th century the phrase, "I shall report this matter, Sir, to Horseguards" would be enough to strike fear into the heart of any errant Army officer. Currently it is headquarters to the London District and the Household Cavalry.

If you look at my photos, you will see a complete absence of well turned out soldiers either on horses or on foot. Do not panic! If you want to see the soldiers, go through the middle gate of the building and you will find them on the other side on guard. There are mounted soldiers on duty from 1000 - 1600 daily and if you want to see a bit of British military tradition, you can see the Dismounting ceremony at 1600. Foot soldiers, bizarrely dismounted horseguards as opposed to "real" footguards are on duty until 2000. Yes, you can stand beside them to get you photo taken but please don't try to engage them in conversation etc. as they are not allowed.

Here is a real insiders tip for you, if somewhat bizarre and given to me by a mate of mine who was in the horseguards. Ladies (or indeed gents), if you find yourself attracted to a particular mounted trooper, this is the form. As stated, they cannot speak to you so write your name and phone number n a bit of paper and disreetely drop it into the fairly wide top of the thigh length riding boots. Just don't tell the Major I told you to do it!

Having divulged that little gem, there is little more to tell you about horseguards except that it is free (always good) and it is scheduled, during the 2012 London Olympics, to be the venue for the beach volleyball. I can't wait.

You can step outside the 2nd most well known address in the UK and perhaps get a glimpse inside. Downing Street is home to the British Prime Minister. It has seen many great leaders come and go Thatcher, Chamberlain, Churchill, Blair...