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Last summer Heidi and I were in the butterfly house on Mackinac Island and I could feel something watching me. I choose to believe it was this creature.
Aren't these new larger Flickr images sweet? Press "L" for a show. Then you should spend some time going through my photos!
OBSERVE Collective
All images are © Copyrighted and All Rights Reserved
germanstreetphotography.com/michael-monty-may/
I frequently observe gulls on the Seattle waterfront catching and swallowing whole sea stars, as this gull ultimately did. I remember the first time, years ago, that I ever saw this behavior. I was freaked out, thinking the gull was going to choke and die. At the time, I had no idea how adapted gulls are to this particular food source. This Scientific American article talks about how the two species may have co-evolved, with sea stars even developing color variations in response to gull predation.
OBSERVE Collective
All images are © Copyrighted and All Rights Reserved
germanstreetphotography.com/michael-monty-may/
Observe the detail in the feathers of this proud little bird.
D70 + MTO 11-CA 1000mm mirror (distance 8 mtrs)
I must have seen myself as getting all innovative and edgy here. Very committed, very socialist. It was Tuesday 16th July 1974. I had just returned to Plymouth station after a jaunt around the town ...mainly to buy more film... and had recovered my Hitachi cassette recorder from its left luggage locker. Following a bomb attack by Fenian terrorists these had been out of use for some time, but had lately been reinstated. I was trying to get a few recordings of the famous Western "sound". Most of the results were of execrable quality, wind-rumble being the main problem. D1065 was idling at the platform with a few parcels vans, eventually "running round" and hauling them off to sidings far. Shortly afterwards, finding The Cornishman disappointingly "Peak"-hauled, I hopped aboard the Western-hauled Cornish Riviera Limited, travelling as far as Exeter where I changed for Bristol. I washed my hair that evening.
May 1978 just outside the US Naval Base at Subic Bay, R.P. Image taken by my late friend Jim Abrisch with his Nikon on Kodak Ektachrome. I'm using my new Canon 1014 Super 8 film movie camera. Young assistant was slightly amused by it all.
International Observe the Moon Night 2022
4740 people enjoyed the activity from the main square of Salamanca, Spain. 14 telescopes and 25 volunteers working with the city council, prepared this observation of 3 hours long. You can read the rest of the story and see our photos at the following link. osae.info/documentos_osae/2022/2022_10_01.htm
Not exactly, as you will observe that everything is firmly fixed to the floor here. No, this is actually the name of the band who were filming a video here for their song 'Dance with Me' which was eventually released as a single in 2016.
It was a pleasant coincidence that this was taking place when I made my only visit here - I had been meaning to visit the Kempton Steam Museum for ages, it being where the M3 morphs into the A316 on the London/Surrey border.
Details of the museum are here kemptonsteam.org/
and you can see the music video here www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcIfVUpNeb0
Hanworth, London
18th October 2014
20141018 IMG_8391
Designer: Zhao Weiliang (赵渭凉)
1978, January
Observe discipline
Zunshou jilu (遵守纪律)
Call nr.: BG E37/57 (Landsberger collection)
More? See: chineseposters.net
THAI PONGAL WISHES to ALL
Thai Pongal
Observed by Tamils
Type Festival, Tamil People Tamilnadu, India. Sri Lankan Tamils, Sri Lanka
Significance Harvest festival. Thanking the sun god for agricultural abundance
Celebrations Feasting, gift-giving, visiting homes
Date First day of the tenth month of Thai in the Tamil calendar
2013 date
14 January
4 days long
2014 date 14 January
Tamil A.svg Tamil is written in a non-Latin script. Tamil text used in this article is transliterated into the Latin script according to the ISO 15919 standard.
Thai Pongal (தைப்பொங்கல்) or Pongal (பொங்கல்) is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamil people at the end of the harvest season.[1] Pongal is a four day festival which usually takes place from January 13 to 16 in the Gregorian calendar i.e., the last day of the Tamil month Maargazhi to the third day of Tamil month Thai.
The second of the four days i.e., first day of the Tamil month Thai is the second and main day of the festival and this day is known as Thai Pongal. This day coincides with Makara Sankranthi which is a winter harvest festival celebrated throughout India. The day marks the start of sun’s six-month long journey northwards or the Uttarayanam.[2] This also represents the Indic solstice when the sun purportedly enters the 10th house of the Indian zodiac i.e. Makara or Capricorn.
It is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Tamil people in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry,[3][4] and Sri Lanka.
In Tamil, the word Pongal means "overflowing" which signifies abundance and prosperity. On the day of Pongal, at the time of sun rise there is a symbolic ritual of boiling fresh milk in a new clay pots and when the milk boils over and bubbles out of the vessel, people shout "Pongalo Pongal!" [2][5] The saying "Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum" meaning "the commencement of Thai paves the way for new opportunities" is often quoted regarding the Pongal festival. Thai Pongal is mainly celebrated to convey the appreciation and thankfulness to the Sun as it act as the primary energy behind agriculture and a good harvest. It is the Surya Mangalyam. Tamilians decorate their homes with banana and mango leaves and embellish the floor with decorative patterns drawn using rice flour.[3]
Contents
1 History
2 Etymology
3 Pongal dish
4 Bhogi
5 Maatu Pongal
6 Kaanum Pongal
7 Pongal Wishes and Greetings
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
History
The history may well be more than 1000 years old although some are of the view that the festival is older than that. Epigraphic Evidence suggests the celebration of the Puthiyeedu during the Medieval Chola empire days. It is thought that Puthiyeedu meant the first harvest of the year.[6] The link between that past and today's harvest festival needs to be further researched. Tamils refer to Pongal as "Tamizhar Thirunaal" (meaning "the festival of Tamils")[7] Makara Sankranti in turn is referred to in the Surya Siddhanta.
Etymology
Kolam drawn during Thai Pongal
Kolam decorations in front of house during Thai Pongal
Thai refers to the name of the tenth month in the Tamil calendar, Thai (தை). Pongal in Tamil generally refers to festivity;[8] more specifically Pongal means "boiling over" or "overflow". The boiling for the household. Pongal is also the name of a sweetened dish of rice boiled with lentils which is ritually consumed on this day. Symbolically, pongal signifies the warming i.e. boiling of the season as the Sun travels northward towards the equinox.
Pongal dish
Main article: Pongal (dish)
Pongal being cooked
Pongal being cooked in a city home.
Besides rice and milk the ingredients of the sweet dish Pongal dish include cardamom, jaggery, raisins, mung dhal, and cashew nuts. Cooking is done in sunlight, usually in a porch or courtyard, as the dish is dedicated to the Sun god, Surya. The cooking is done in a clay pot which is decorated with coloured patterns called kolam. There are two versions of pongal, one sweet the other salted. The prepared dish is served on banana leaves.
Apart from Pongal Day celebrations, cooking pongal is a traditional practice at Hindu temples during any Temple Festival in Tamil Nadu. The community will convene to cook pongal rice, partake of it and distribute it to those present.
Bhogi
Bhogi Pandigai / Bhogi Pallu / Lohri /
The day preceding Pongal is called Bhogi when people discard old things and focus on new belongings. The disposal of derelict things is similar to Holika in North India. The people assemble at dawn in Tamil Nadu to light a bonfire to discard old used possessions. The house is cleaned, painted and decorated to give a festive look. In villages, the horns of oxen and buffaloes are painted in colors and people celebrate it in a grand way as most of them would have their harvest ready or even would have made money out of the harvests.
This tradition is observed on the same day in Andhra Pradesh where it is also called "Bhogi." The fruits from the harvest are collected (such as regi pallu and sugar cane), along with flowers of the season, in a ceremony called Bhogi Pallu Money is often placed into a mixture of Bhogi Pallu, and the mixture is poured over children, who then collect the money and sweet fruits.
This day is celebrated in Punjab as Lohri and in Assam as Magh Bihu / Bhogali Bihu.
Pongal Pandigai
Newly cooked rice and savouries prepped for celebrating pongal.
Pongal itself falls on the first day of the Tamil month of Thai (January 14 or 15). It is celebrated by boiling rice in new clay pots. The rice is later topped with sugar, ghee, cashew nuts and raisins. This tradition gives Pongal its name. The rice is traditionally cooked at sun rise.
The moment the milk boils over and bubbles out of the vessel, the tradition is to shout of "Pongalo Pongal!", introduce freshly harvested rice grains in the pot and blow the sanggu (a conch). Tamils consider it a good sign to watch the milk boil over as it connotes good luck and prosperity. The newly cooked rice is traditionally offered to the Sun God at sunrise to demonstrate gratitude for the harvest. It is later served to the people present in the house for the ceremony. People prepare savories and sweets such as vadai, murukku, paayasam, visit each other and exchange greetings.
Tamil Nadu - celebrated as Thai Pongal
Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Kerala, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh - celebrated as Makara Sankranthi
Gujarat and Rajasthan celebrated as Uttarayana
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab - celebrated as Lohri
Assam - celebrated as Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu
Nepal - celebrated as Maghe Sankranti or Makar Sankranti
Tamils draw kolams/rangolis on the door step, consume sugar cane, prepare sweetened rice, milk and jaggery in new earthen pots and dedicate it to Sun God. The family elders present gifts to the young. Elsewhere in India, there is kite flying in Gujarat and Andhra, the Jahangir Dance in Punjab and the Ganga Sagar Mela in Bengal. Millions of people immerse themselves in rivers in North India and offer prayers to the Sun God - Suryan. People offer thousands of their colorful oblations to the Sun in the form of beautiful kites.
The Sun stands for “Pratyaksha Brahman” - the manifest God, who symbolizes the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one and all tirelessly. The Sun is the one who transcends time and also the one who rotates the proverbial wheel of time.
Maatu Pongal
Maatu Pongal
"Maatu pongal kolam"
A victorious youth taking control of the bull in a jallikattu at Alanganallur, Madurai.
Cattle play an important role in the traditional Indian farmstead be it with regards to the provision of dairy products, its use for ploughing and transport and its provision of fertilizer. This explains the Tamil reference to cattle as wealth. On the day after Pongal, cattle are felicitated. In rural Tamil Nadu, adventurous games such as the Jallikkattu or taming the wild bull are features of the day. Maattu Pongal is intended to demonstrate our recognition and affection to cattle and decorate them with garlands, apply kungumam (kumkum) on their foreheads and are feed with a mixture of venn pongal, jaggery,honey,banana and other fruits
Kanu Pidi is a tradition that the ladies and young girls of the house follow. Women feed birds and pray for the well being of their brothers. Women of the family place different kinds of coloured rice, cooked vegetables, banana and sweet pongal on a ginger or turmeric leaf and invite the crows, which descend in hordes to share and enjoy the "Kaka pidi, Kanu pidi" feast. Women offer prayers in the hope that the brother-sister ties may remain forever strong like the family of crows.
Maatu pongal is a festival celebrated together by the villagers to thank the cows for their favour in farming. People bathe their cattle and paint their horns with colourful paints. In the evening people offer prayings to Lord Ganesh made out of mud[clarification needed] and all the cattle of the village are gathered together and are decorated with garland, manjalthanni (turmeric water) only for cows, oil, shikakai, kumkum is applied on the forehead and fed with a mixture of venn pongal, Jaggery, honey, fruits etc. At the people torch out of coconut leaves and burn with fire and run around cattles thrice and run to the border of the village and drop their,[clarification needed] this ritual is performed to remove all Drishti[disambiguation needed].
Kaanum Pongal
Kaanum Pongal
This is a time for family reunions in Tamil Nadu. Falling on the third day of the Pongal festivities, brothers pay special tribute to their married sisters by giving gifts as affirmation of their filial love. Landlords present gifts of food, clothes and money to their workforce. During Kaanum Pongal (the word kaanum means "to view"), people visit relatives and friends to enjoy the festive season. In the cities this day is synonymous with people flocking to beaches and theme parks to have a day out with their families. They also chew sugar cane and decorate their houses with kolam. This day is a day to thank relatives and friends for their support in the harvest. Although it started as a farmers festival, today it has become a national festival for all Tamils irrespective of their origins or even religion. It is as popular in urban areas as is in rural areas.This festival also marks the end of the Pongal festivities for the year.
In Andhra Pradesh, Mukkanuma, the final day of Sankranthi festival, is celebrated to worship cattle. Mukkanuma is famous among the non-vegetarians of the society. People do not eat any non-vegetarian dishes during the first three days of the festival and eat it only on the day of Mukkanuma.
Pongal Wishes and Greetings
In Tamil people wish each other Happy Pongal saying Iniya Pongal Nalvazhthukkal (இனிய பொங்கல் நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்) which in English means Happy Pongal or by saying Pongal Vazhthukkal (பொங்கல் வாழ்த்துக்கள்) which in English means Pongal Wishes or Pongal Greetings.
We cannot create observers by saying 'observe,' but by giving them the power and the means for this observation and these means are procured through education of the senses.
~ ~ Maria Montessori ~ ~
Observe the caravan attached on a wagon to the rear of the train. Ready for lunch?
Scanned from a Kodachrome64 transparency.
Just don't disturb the master. I was determined to finally finish binding this quilt last night, so I sat down on the couch with it and started working, and before too long I had company. Zappycat crawled into the other end of the quilt and made himself quite comfortable. I guess he gave the quilt his seal of approval.... which also caused me to have to take it out to a "Cat-free zone" for a good session with a lint roller before I present the quilt to its new owner this week.
Taken near the SW Houston.
It was cloudy. Autofocus failed initially until clouds cleared sufficiently. At first I thought I had an equipment failure since I took solar eclipse pictures one week ago with the same lens and camera (www.flickr.com/photos/23326616@N07/albums/72177720311938802).
Temperature was warm. We still have to deal with mosquitos. Picture quality is not as good as equipment capability.
Click twice to zoom in. There is an unexplained dot on the picture. You can see the approximate location by putting the cursor on the picture. You can only see it after zoom in by clicking twice. It is a shinny dot!. This picture is processed from the last picture I took. This dot is at different locations in the earlier pictures. I hope it is not one of those Starlink satellites.
My other Moon photos: www.flickr.com/photos/23326616@N07/albums/72157603957016908
Link to NASA International Observe the Moon Night website.
moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/
2024 International Observe the Moon Night is September 14 2024
Remembrance Sunday
Garrison Sergeant Major London District Billy Mott of the Welsh Guards checking on arrangements before the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
In the United Kingdom, Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November, which is the Sunday nearest to 11 November Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War at 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918. Remembrance Sunday is held to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts.
Remembrance Sunday is marked by ceremonies at local war memorials in most cities, towns and villages, attended by civic dignitaries, ex-servicemen and -women, members of local armed forces regular and reserve units, military cadet forces and uniformed youth organisations. Wreaths of remembrance poppies are laid on the memorials and two minutes’ silence is observed at 11 a.m.
The United Kingdom national ceremony is held in London at the Cenotaph in Whitehall. Wreaths are laid by Queen Elizabeth II, principal members of the Royal Family normally including the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal, the Earl of Wessex and the Duke of Kent, the Prime Minister, leaders of the other major political parties, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Commonwealth High Commissioners and representatives from the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force, the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets and the civilian services, and veterans’ groups. Two minutes' silence is held at 11 a.m., before the laying of the wreaths. This silence is marked by the firing of a field gun on Horse Guards Parade to begin and end the silence, followed by Royal Marines buglers sounding Last Post.
The parade consists mainly of an extensive march past, with military bands playing music following the list of the Traditional Music of Remembrance.
Other members of the British Royal Family watch from the balcony of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
After the ceremony, a parade of veterans and other related groups, organised by the Royal British Legion, marches past the Cenotaph, each section of which lays a wreath as it passes. Only ticketed participants can take part in the march past.
From 1919 until the Second World War remembrance observance was always marked on 11 November itself. It was then moved to Remembrance Sunday, but since the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in 1995, it has become usual to hold ceremonies on both Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday.
Each year, the programme of music at the National Ceremony remains the same, following a programme finalised in 1930:
Rule, Britannia! by Thomas Arne
Heart of Oak by William Boyce
The Minstrel Boy by Thomas Moore
Men of Harlech
The Skye Boat Song
Isle of Beauty by Thomas Haynes Bayly
David of the White Rock
Oft in the Stilly Night by John Stevenson
Flowers of the Forest
Nimrod from the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar
Dido's lament by Henry Purcell
O Valiant Hearts by Charles Harris
Solemn Melody by Walford Davies
Last Post – a bugle call
Beethoven's Funeral March No. 1, by Johann Heinrich Walch
O God, Our Help in Ages Past – words by Isaac Watts, music by William Croft
Reveille – a bugle call
God Save The Queen
Other pieces of music are then played during the march past and wreath laying by veterans, starting with Trumpet Voluntary and followed by It's A Long Way To Tipperary, the marching song of the Connaught Rangers, a famous British Army Irish Regiment of long ago.
Cenotaph Ceremony and March Past - 10 November 2013 Order of March and Ticket Allocation
Column D [Lead Column]
Marker NumberDetachmentNo of marchers
1War Widows Association 126
2British Gurkha Welfare Society 78
3West Indian Association of Service Personnel 18
4Trucial Oman Scouts Association 18
5Bond Van Wapenbroeders 26
6Polish Ex-Combatants Association in Great Britain Trust Fund 40
7Canadian Veterans Association 10
9Hong Kong Ex-Servicemen's Association (UK Branch) 24
10Hong Kong Military Service Corps 18
11Foreign Legion Association 24
12Not Forgotten Association 54
13The Royal British Legion 348
14The Royal British Legion Poppy Factory 6 New
15The Royal British Legion Scotland 26
16Ulster Defence Regiment72
18Northern Ireland Veterans' Association 42
19Irish United Nations Veterans Association 12
20ONET UK 10
21St Helena Government UK 24
22Commando Veterans Association 30
23South Atlantic Medal Association 196
24SSAFA Forces Help 66
25First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteers Corps) 12
26Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen & Women 48
27British Nuclear Test Veterans Association 48
28British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association 48
29British Ex-Services Wheelchair Sports Association24
30Royal Hospital Chelsea 30
31Queen Alexandra's Hospital Home for Disabled Ex-Servicemen30
32The Royal Star & Garter Homes20
33Combat Stress48
34Walking With The Wounded14
Total 1,590
Column E
1Merchant Navy Association 150
2Royal Naval Association 160
3Royal Marines Association 198
4Aircraft Handlers Association36
5Telegraphist Air Gunners Association12
6Aircrewmans Association30
7Cloud Observers Association10
8Fleet Air Arm Armourers Association36
9Fleet Air Arm Association30
10Fleet Air Arm Bucaneer Association24
11Fleet Air Arm Field Gun Association24
12Fleet Air Arm Junglie Association18
13Fleet Air Arm Officers Association40
14Fleet Air Arm Safety Equipment & Survival Association18
15Sea Harrier Association24
16Flower Class Corvette Association18
17LST & Landing Craft Association10
18HMS Andromeda Association18
19HMS Bulwark, Albion & Centaur Association22
20HMS Cumberland Association18
21HMS Ganges Association36
22HMS Glasgow Association30
23HMS St Vincent Association36
24HMS Tiger Association20
25Algerines Association25
26Ton Class Association30
27Type 42 Association35 New
28Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service35
29VAD RN Association18
30Association of WRENS90
31Royal Fleet Auxiliary Association10
32Royal Naval Communications Association30
33Royal Naval Medical Branch Ratings & Sick Berth Staff Association 6
34Royal Naval Benevolent Trust18
35Royal Navy School of Physical Training24
36Russian Convoy Club30
37Yangtze Incident Association24
38Special Boat Service Association 6
39Submariners Association30
40Association of Royal Yachtsmen24
41Broadsword Association36
Total 1,489
Column F
1British Korean Veterans Association 500
2National Malaya & Borneo Veterans Association98
3Normandy Veterans Association 6
4National Service Veterans Alliance 150
5Italy Star Association48
6Monte Cassino Society20
7Gallantry Medallists League36
8National Pigeon War Service30
9National Gulf Veterans & Families Association30
10Fellowship of the Services 150
11Burma Star Association50
12Far East Prisoners of War 8
14Memorable Order of Tin Hats36
15Suez Veterans Association50
16Aden Veterans Association84
171st Army Association36
18Showmens' Guild of Great Britain30
19Queen's Bodyguard of The Yeoman of The Guard18
20Popski's Private Army 4
21Pen and Sword Club18
22Black and White Club18 New
Total 1,420
Column A
2Royal Northumberland Fusiliers48
3The Duke of Lancaster's Regimental Association30
4Green Howards Association44
6Cheshire Regiment Association24
7Sherwood Foresters & Worcestershire Regiment36
8Mercian Regiment Association30
9Rifles Regimental Association48
10The Rifles & Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire & Wiltshire Regimental Association
30
11Royal Irish Regiment Association12
12Durham Light Infantry Association60
13King's Royal Rifle Corps Association60
14Light Infantry Association48 New
151LI Association36 New
16Royal Green Jackets Association 198
17Parachute Regimental Association 174
18The Royal Regiment of Scotland Association18 New
19Royal Scots Regimental Association40
20King's Own Scottish Borderers50
21Black Watch Association45
22Gordon Highlanders Association60
23Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Association 6
24The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)24 New
25Grenadier Guards Association48
26Coldstream Guards Association48
27Scots Guards Association40
28Guards Parachute Association36
294 Company Association (Parachute Regiment)24
30Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment72
32Royal East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) Past & Present Association30
33Royal Sussex Regimental Association12
34Royal Hampshire Regiment Comrades Association12
Total 1,443
Column B
1Blind Veterans UK 198
2Royal Scots Dragoon Guards30
3Royal Dragoon Guards78
4Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own & Royal Irish)12
5Kings Royal Hussars Regimental Association96
6The 16/5th Queen's Royal Lancers36 New
7Gurkha Brigade Association36
8JLR RAC Old Boys' Association30
943rd Reconnaissance Regiment Old Comrades Association 6
10Army Dog Unit Northern Ireland Association48
11North Irish Horse & Irish Regiments Old Comrades Association78
12Association of Ammunition Technicians36
13Beachley Old Boys Association36
14Arborfield Old Boys Association18
15Women's Royal Army Corps Association 120
16656 Squadron Association72
17Home Guard Association12
183rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery Association60
19Royal Artillery Association18
20Royal Engineers Association30
21Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal Association65
22Airborne Engineers Association24
23Mill Hill (Postal & Courier Services) Veterans' Association30 New
24Royal Signals Association48
25Army Air Corps Association42
26Royal Army Service Corps & Royal Corps of Transport Association40
27RAOC Association18
28Army Catering Corps Association48
29Royal Pioneer Corps Association54
30Reconnaissance Corps18
31Royal Army Medical Corps Association36
32Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers Association48
33Royal Military Police Association 100
34The RAEC and ETS Branch Association 6
35Royal Army Pay Corps Regimental Association36
36Royal Army Veterinary Corps & Royal Army Dental Corps18
37Intelligence Corps Association30
38Royal Army Physical Training Corps24
39Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps Association48
Total 1,783
Column C
1Royal Air Forces Association 125
2Royal Air Force Regiment Association 300
3Royal Air Forces Ex-Prisoner's of War Association20
4 Federation of Royal Air Force Apprentice & Boy Entrant Associations 150
5Royal Air Force Air Loadmasters Association24
6Royal Air Force Police Association90
7Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service Association40
8Bomber Command Association20
9Royal Observer Corps Association80
10National Service (Royal Air Force) Association42
11RAFLING Association24
126 Squadron (Royal Air Force) Association18
137 Squadron Association30
14RAF Habbaniya Association30
15Royal Air Force & Defence Fire Services Association30
16Air Sea Rescue & Marine Craft Sections Club12
17Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Association30
18Royal Air Force Butterworth & Penang Association 6
19Royal Air Force Yatesbury Association15
20Royal Air Force Airfield Construction Branch Association12
21Women's Auxiliary Air Force12
22Blenheim Society18
23Coastal Command & Maritime Air Association24
Total 1,152
Column M
1Transport For London48
2First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteers Corps)24
3Munitions Workers Association18
4Children of the Far East Prisoners of War60
5Evacuees Reunion Association48
6TOC H12
7Salvation Army36
8NAAFI12
10Civil Defence Association10
11British Resistance Movement (Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team)12 New
12National Association of Retired Police Officers36
13Metropolitan Special Constabulary36
14London Ambulance Service NHS Trust36
15London Ambulance Service Retirement Association18
16St John Ambulance36
17St Andrew's Ambulance Association 6
18Firefighters Memorial Trust24
19Royal Ulster Constabulary (GC) Association36
20Ulster Special Constabulary Association30
21Commonwealth War Graves Commission12
22Daniel's Trust36
23Civilians Representing Families85
24Royal Mail Group Ltd24
25Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals24
26The Blue Cross18
27PDSA24
28HM Ships Glorious Ardent & ACASTA Association24
29Old Cryptians' Club12
30Fighting G Club18
31Malayan Volunteers Group12
32Gallipoli Association18
33Ministry of Defence30
34RBL Non Ex-Service Members 123
35Union Jack Club12
36Western Front Association11
37Shot at Dawn Pardons Campaign18
38Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes24
39National Association of Round Tables24
40Lions Club International24
41Rotary International24
4241 Club 6 New
43Equity12
44Romany & Traveller Society18
45Sea Cadet Corps30
46Combined Cadet Force30
47Army Cadet Force30
48Air Training Corps30
49Scout Association30
50Girlguiding London & South East England30
51Boys Brigade30
52Girls Brigade England & Wales30
53Church Lads & Church Girls Brigade30
54Metropolitan Police Volunteer Police Cadets18
55St John Ambulance Cadets18
56British Red Cross12 New
Total 1,489
Newindicates first time participation in 2013.
Cenotaph Ceremony & March Past - 10 November 2013 Summary of Contingent Composition
Column A1,443
Column B1,783
Column C1,152
Column D1,590
Column E1,489
Column F1,420
Sub-total8,877
Column M1,489
Total 10,366
News report on 10 November 2013
Remembrance Sunday 2013: The Queen leads nation in honouring fallen heroes
Her Majesty laid the first wreath at the Cenotaph on Whitehall as the UK fell silent at 11am in tribute to those who lost their lives in conflict
The Queen was joined by Prince Philip and other members of the Royal Family as she led the nation in honouring members of the Armed Forces killed in conflict.
The monarch laid the first wreath at the Cenotaph on Whitehall to commemorate all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the decades since the First World War, bowing her head after paying her respects.
As Remembrance Sunday services took place around the UK to remember our war dead, the royals, politicians, military leaders, veterans and serving personnel laid wreaths of poppies at the monument.
Prince Harry was laying the wreath on behalf of his father Prince Charles, who is currently abroad on an official tour of India with the Duchess of Cornwall, and was marking the occasion there.
Kate Middleton, who dressed in a navy, military-style coat, watched from a balcony with Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Princess Anne's husband, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence.
Troops in Afghanistan were joined by the Duke of York, who laid a wreath during a service held at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province to mark Remembrance Sunday.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond also flew to Afghanistan last night to join servicemen and women.
Millions across the UK fell silent in tribute to those lost in war, joining the crowds gathered in central London who stood in a moment of quiet contemplation as Big Ben struck 11am.
During the two-minute silence, only the distant sounds of traffic and the rustling of leaves could be heard, despite the fact that police said Whitehall was at capacity.
The beginning and end of the silence was marked with the firing of a round by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, using a 13-pounder First World War gun.
In cold but bright weather, the royals and dignitaries then laid their wreaths at the Cenotaph.
Prime Minister David Cameron was first after the royals to do so, followed by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband.
Former prime ministers Sir John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and London Mayor Boris Johnson also attended the ceremony.
The Duchess of Cambridge was accompanied on the Foreign Office balcony by the Countess of Wessex and Vice Admiral Tim Laurence.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who joined the Royal Navy in 1939, wore the uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet for the ceremony. Prince Harry, who has undertaken two tours of duty in Afghanistan, wore the uniform of a Captain in the Household Cavalry. His brother William left operational service recently after more than seven years in the forces. He wore the uniform of Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant.
Following the wreath-laying, the Bishop of London the Right Reverend Richard Chartres conducted a short service in his role as Dean of HM Chapels Royal.
More than 10,000 veterans and civilians then marched past the Cenotaph to pay their respects to their departed comrades, led this year by members of the War Widows Association, wearing black coats and red scarves.
They were all warmly applauded as they paraded past, some veterans in wheelchairs and motorised scooters as they marked the loss of their comrades.
There was a large contingent of veterans from the Korean War, the armistice of which was 60 years ago.
The 70th anniversaries of the Battle of the Atlantic and the Dambusters' Raid were also marked this year.
Remembrance Sunday, 8 November 2015
In the United Kingdom, Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November, which is the Sunday nearest to 11 November, Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War at 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918. Remembrance Sunday is held to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts.
Remembrance Sunday is marked by ceremonies at local war memorials in most cities, towns and villages, attended by civic dignitaries, ex-servicemen and -women, members of local armed forces regular and reserve units, military cadet forces and uniformed youth organisations. Two minutes’ silence is observed at 11 a.m. and wreaths of remembrance poppies are then laid on the memorials.
The United Kingdom national ceremony is held in London at the Cenotaph in Whitehall. Wreaths are laid by Queen Elizabeth II, principal members of the Royal Family normally including the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal, the Earl of Wessex and the Duke of Kent, the Prime Minister, leaders of the other major political parties, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Commonwealth High Commissioners and representatives from the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force, the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets and the civilian services, and veterans’ groups. Two minutes' silence is held at 11 a.m., before the laying of the wreaths. This silence is marked by the firing of a field gun on Horse Guards Parade to begin and end the silence, followed by Royal Marines buglers sounding Last Post.
The parade consists mainly of an extensive march past by veterans, with military bands playing music following the list of the Traditional Music of Remembrance.
Other members of the British Royal Family watch from the balcony of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
After the ceremony, a parade of veterans and other related groups, organised by the Royal British Legion, marches past the Cenotaph, each section of which lays a wreath as it passes. Only ticketed participants can take part in the march past.
From 1919 until the Second World War remembrance observance was always marked on 11 November itself. It was then moved to Remembrance Sunday, but since the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in 1995, it has become usual to hold ceremonies on both Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday.
Each year, the music at the National Ceremony of Remembrance remains the same, following a programme finalised in 1930:
Rule, Britannia! by Thomas Arne
Heart of Oak by William Boyce
The Minstrel Boy by Thomas Moore
Men of Harlech
The Skye Boat Song
Isle of Beauty by Thomas Haynes Bayly
David of the White Rock
Oft in the Stilly Night by John Stevenson
Flowers of the Forest
Nimrod from the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar
Dido's lament by Henry Purcell
O Valiant Hearts by Charles Harris
Solemn Melody by Walford Davies
Last Post – a bugle call
Beethoven's Funeral March No. 1, by Johann Heinrich Walch
O God, Our Help in Ages Past – words by Isaac Watts, music by William Croft
Reveille – a bugle call
God Save The Queen
Other pieces of music are then played during the march past and wreath laying by veterans, starting with Trumpet Voluntary and followed by It's A Long Way To Tipperary, the marching song of the Connaught Rangers, a famous British Army Irish Regiment of long ago.
The following is complied from press reports on 8 November 2015:
"The nation paid silent respect to the country's war dead today in a Remembrance Sunday service. Leading the nation in remembrance, as ever, was the Queen, who first laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in 1945 and has done so every year since, except on the four occasions when she was overseas.
Dressed in her customary all-black ensemble with a clutch of scarlet poppies pinned against her left shoulder, she stepped forward following the end of the two-minute silence marked by the sounding of Last Post by 10 Royal Marine buglers.
The Queen laid her wreath at the foot of the Sir Edwin Lutyens Portland stone monument to the Glorious Dead, then stood with her head momentarily bowed.
She was joined by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, who was invited to the Cenotaph for the first time to lay a wreath marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands by British troops.
Watched by his wife Queen Maxima, who stood next to the Duchess of Cambridge in the Royal Box, the King laid a wreath marked with the simple message, 'In remembrance of the British men and women who gave their lives for our future.'
Wreaths were then laid by members of the Royal Family, all wearing military uniform: Prince Philip; then Prince Andrew, Prince Harry and Prince William at the same time ; then Prince Edward, Princess Anne and the Duke of Kent at the same time.
Three members of the Royal Family laying wreaths at the same time was an innovation in 2015 designed to slightly reduce the amount of time of the ceremony and thereby reduce the time that the Queen had to be standing.
Prince Charles attended a remembrance service in New Zealand.
The Prime Minister then laid a wreath. The Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, appeared at the Cenotaph for the first time. He wore both a suit and a red poppy for the occasion.
His bow as he laid a wreath marked with the words 'let us resolve to create a world of peace' was imperceptible – and not enough for some critics. Yet unlike the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Battle service earlier this year, Mr Corbyn did join in with the singing of the national anthem.
Following the end of the official service at the Cenotaph, a mammoth column more than 10,000-strong (some 9,000 of whom were veterans) began marching along Whitehall, saluting the Cenotaph as they passed, Parliament Street, Great George Street, Horse Guards Road and back to Horse Guard Parade. The Duke of Cambridge took the salute from the column on Horse Guards Parade.
Time takes its inevitable toll on even the most stoic among us, and this year only a dozen World War Two veterans marched with the Spirit of Normandy Trust, a year after the Normandy Veterans' Association disbanded.
Within their ranks was 95-year-old former Sapper Don Sheppard of the Royal Engineers. Sheppard was of the eldest on parade and was pushed in his wheelchair by his 19-year-old grandson, Sam who, in between studying at Queen Mary University, volunteers with the Normandy veterans.
'It is because of my admiration for them,' he says. 'I see them as role models and just have the utmost respect for what they did.'
While some had blankets covering their legs against the grey November day, other veterans of more recent wars had only stumps to show for their service to this country during 13 long years of war in Afghanistan.
As well as that terrible toll of personal sacrifice, the collective losses – and triumphs - of some of the country’s most historic regiments were also honoured yesterday.
The Gurkha Brigade Association - marking 200 years of service in the British Army – marched to warm ripples of applause. The King’s Royal Hussars, represented yesterday by 126 veterans, this year also celebrate 300 years since the regiment was raised.
They were led by General Sir Richard Shirreff, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander of Nato and Colonel of the regiment who himself was marching for the first time.
'We are joined by a golden thread to all those generations who have gone before us,” he said. “We are who we are, because of those that have gone before us.' "
Cenotaph Ceremony & March Past - 8 November 2015
Summary of Contingents
Column Number of marchers
B (Lead) 1,754
C 1,298
D 1,312
E 1,497
F 1,325
A 1,551
Ex-Service Total 8,737
M (Non ex-Service) 1,621
Total 10,358
Column B
Marker Detachment Number
1 Reconnaissance Corps 18 Anniversary
2 43rd Reconnaissance Regiment Old Comrades Assoc 10
3 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery Association 60
4 Royal Artillery Association 18
5 Royal Engineers Association 37
6 Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal Association 65 Anniversary
7 Airborne Engineers Association 24
8 Royal Signals Association 48
9 Army Air Corps Association 42
10 Royal Army Service Corps & Royal Corps Transport Assoc 54
11 RAOC Association 18
12 Army Catering Corps Association 48
13 Royal Pioneer Corps Association 54 Anniversary
14 Royal Army Medical Corps Association 36
15 Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers Association 48
16 Royal Military Police Association 100
17 The RAEC and ETS Branch Association 12
18 Royal Army Pay Corps Regimental Association 36
19 Royal Army Veterinary Corps & Royal Army Dental Corps 18
20 Royal Army Physical Training Corps 24
21 Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps Assoc 48
22 Royal Scots Dragoon Guards 30
23 Royal Dragoon Guards 78
24 Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own & Royal Irish) 12
25 Kings Royal Hussars Regimental Association 126
26 16/5th Queen's Royal Lancers 36
27 17/21 Lancers 30
28 The Royal Lancers 24 New for 2015
29 JLR RAC Old Boys' Association 30
30 Association of Ammunition Technicians 24
31 Beachley Old Boys Association 36
32 Arborfield Old Boys Association 25
33 Gallipoli & Dardenelles International 24
34 Special Observers Association 24
35 The Parachute Squadron Royal Armoured Corps 24 New
36 Intelligence Corps Association 48
37 Women's Royal Army Corps Association 120
38 656 Squadron Association 24
39 Home Guard Association 9
40 British Resistance Movement (Coleshill Research Team) 12
41 British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association 48
42 British Ex-Services Wheelchair Sports Association 24
43 Royal Hospital Chelsea 30
44 Queen Alexandra's Hospital Home for Disabled Ex-Servicemen & Women 30
45 The Royal Star & Garter Homes 20
46 Combat Stress 48
Total 1,754
Column C
Marker Detachment Number
1 Royal Air Force Association 150
2 Royal Air Force Regiment Association 300
3 Royal Air Forces Ex-Prisoner's of War Association 20
4 Royal Observer Corps Association 75 Anniversary
5 National Service (Royal Air Force) Association 42
6 RAFLING Association 24
7 6 Squadron (Royal Air Force) Association 18
8 7 Squadron Association 25
9 8 Squadron Association 24
10 RAF Habbaniya Association 25
11 Royal Air Force & Defence Fire Services Association 30
12 Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Association 30
13 Units of the Far East Air Force 28 New
14 Royal Air Force Yatesbury Association 16
15 Royal Air Force Airfield Construction Branch Association 12
16 RAFSE(s) Assoc 45 New
17 Royal Air Force Movements and Mobile Air Movements Squadron Association (RAF MAMS) 24
18 Royal Air Force Masirah & Salalah Veterans Assoc 24 New
19 WAAF/WRAF/RAF(W) 25
19 Blenheim Society 18
20 Coastal Command & Maritime Air Association 24
21 Air Sea Rescue & Marine Craft Sections Club 15
22 Federation of RAF Apprentice & Boy Entrant Assocs 150
23 Royal Air Force Air Loadmasters Association 24
24 Royal Air Force Police Association 90
25 Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service Association 40
Total 1,298
Column D
Marker Detachment Number
1 Not Forgotten Association 54
2 Stoll 18
3 Ulster Defence Regiment 72
4 Army Dog Unit Northern Ireland Association 48
5 North Irish Horse & Irish Regiments Old Comrades Association 78
6 Northern Ireland Veterans' Association 40
7 Irish United Nations Veterans Association 12
8 ONET UK 10
9 St Helena Government UK 24
10 South Atlantic Medal Association 196
11 SSAFA 37
12 First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteers Corps) 12
13 Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen & Women 48
14 British Nuclear Test Veterans Association 48
15 War Widows Association 132
16 Gurkha Brigade Association 160 Anniversary
17 British Gurkha Welfare Society 100 Anniversary
18 West Indian Association of Service Personnel 18
19 Trucial Oman Scouts Association 18
20 Bond Van Wapenbroeders 35
21 Polish Ex-Combatants Association in Great Britain 25
22 Stowarzyszenie Polskich Kombatantów Limited 18 New
23 Royal Hong Kong Regiment Association 12
24 Canadian Veterans Association 10
25 Hong Kong Ex-Servicemen's Association (UK Branch) 24
26 Hong Kong Military Service Corps 28
27 Foreign Legion Association 24
28 Undivided Indian Army Ex Servicemen Association 11 New
Total 1,312
Column E
Marker Detachment Number
1 Royal Marines Association 198
2 Royal Naval Association 150
3 Merchant Navy Association 130
4 Sea Harrier Association 24
5 Flower Class Corvette Association 18
6 HMS Andromeda Association 18
7 HMS Argonaut Association 30
8 HMS Bulwark, Albion & Centaur Association 25
9 HMS Cumberland Association 18
10 HMS Ganges Association 48
11 HMS Glasgow Association 30
12 HMS St Vincent Association 26
13 HMS Tiger Association 25
14 Algerines Association 20
15 Ton Class Association 24
16 Type 42 Association 48
17 Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service 36
18 Association of WRENS 90
19 Royal Fleet Auxiliary Association 10
20 Royal Naval Communications Association 30
21 Royal Naval Medical Branch Ratings & Sick Berth Staff Association 24
22 Royal Naval Benevolent Trust 18
23 Yangtze Incident Association 24
24 Special Boat Service Association 6
25 Submariners Association 30
26 Association of Royal Yachtsmen 30
27 Broadsword Association 36
28 Aircraft Handlers Association 36
29 Aircrewmans Association 40 Anniversary
30 Cloud Observers Association 10
31 The Fisgard Association 40
32 Fleet Air Arm Armourers Association 36
33 Fleet Air Arm Association 25
34 Fleet Air Arm Bucaneer Association 24
35 Fleet Air Arm Field Gun Association 24
36 Fleet Air Arm Junglie Association 18
37 Fleet Air Arm Officers Association 30
38 Fleet Air Arm Safety Equipment & Survival Association 24
39 Royal Navy School of Physical Training 24
Total 1,497
Column F
Marker Detachment Number
1 Blind Veterans UK 198
2 Far East Prisoners of War 18
3 Burma Star Association 40
4 Monte Cassino Society20
5 Queen's Bodyguard of The Yeoman of The Guard 18
6 Pen and Sword Club 15
7 TRBL Ex-Service Members 301
8 The Royal British Legion Poppy Factory 4
9 The Royal British Legion Scotland 24
10 Officers Association 5
11 Black and White Club 18
12 National Pigeon War Service 30
13 National Service Veterans Alliance 50
14 Gallantry Medallists League 46
15 National Malaya & Borneo Veterans Association 98
16 National Gulf Veterans & Families Association 30
17 Fellowship of the Services 100
18 Memorable Order of Tin Hats 24
19 Suez Veterans Association 50
20 Aden Veterans Association 72
21 1st Army Association 36
22 Showmens' Guild of Great Britain 40
23 Special Forces Club 12
24 The Spirit of Normandy Trust 28
25 Italy Star Association, 1943-1945, 48
Total 1,325
Column A
Marker Detachment Number
1 1LI Association 36
2 Royal Green Jackets Association 198
3 Parachute Regimental Association 174
4 King's Own Scottish Borderers 60
5 Black Watch Association 45
6 Gordon Highlanders Association 60
7 Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Association 12
8 Queen's Own Highlanders Regimental Association 48
9 London Scottish Regimental Association 30
10 Grenadier Guards Association 48
11 Coldstream Guards Association 48
12 Scots Guards Association 48
13 Guards Parachute Association 36
14 4 Company Association (Parachute Regiment) 24
15 Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment 72
16 Royal East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) Past & Present Association 30
17 Prince of Wales' Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) Regimental Association 24
18 Royal Hampshire Regiment Comrades Association 14
19 The Royal Hampshire Regimental Club 24 New for 2015
20 Royal Northumberland Fusiliers 48 New
21 Royal Sussex Regimental Association 12
22 Green Howards Association 24
23 Cheshire Regiment Association 24
24 Sherwood Foresters & Worcestershire Regiment 36
25 Mercian Regiment Association 30
26 Special Air Service Regimental Association 4
27 The King's Own Royal Border Regiment 100
28 The Staffordshire Regiment 48
29 Rifles Regimental Association 40
30 The Rifles & Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire & Wiltshire Regimental Association 30
31 Durham Light Infantry Association 60
32 King's Royal Rifle Corps Association 50
33 King's African Rifles 14 New for 2015
Total 1,551
Column M
Marker Detachment Number
1 Transport For London 48
2 Children of the Far East Prisoners of War 60
3 First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteers Corps) 24
4 Munitions Workers Association18
5 Evacuees Reunion Association48
6 TOC H 20
7 Salvation Army 36
8 Naval Canteen Service & Expeditionary Force Institutes Association 12 Previously NAAFI
9 Royal Voluntary Service 24
10 Civil Defence Association 8
11 National Association of Retired Police Officers 36
12 Metropolitan Special Constabulary 36
13 London Ambulance Service NHS Trust 36
14 London Ambulance Service Retirement Association 18
15 St John Ambulance 36
16 British Red Cross 12
17 St Andrew's Ambulance Association 6
18 The Firefighters Memorial Trust 24
19 Royal Ulster Constabulary (GC) Association 36
20 Ulster Special Constabulary Association 30
21 Commonwealth War Graves Commission 12
22 Daniel's Trust 36
23 Civilians Representing Families 180
24 Royal Mail Group Ltd 24
25 Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 24
26 The Blue Cross 24
27 PDSA 24
28 HM Ships Glorious Ardent & ACASTA Association 24 Anniversary
29 Old Cryptians' Club 12
30 Fighting G Club 18 Anniversary
31 Malayan Volunteers Group 12
32 Gallipoli Association 18
33 Ministry of Defence 20
34 TRBL Non Ex-Service Members 117
35 TRBL Women's Section 20
36 Union Jack Club 12
37 Western Front Association 8
38 Shot at Dawn Pardons Campaign 18
39 Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes 24
40 National Association of Round Tables 24
41 Lions Club International 24
42 Rotary International 24
43 41 Club 6
44 Equity 12
45 Romany & Traveller Society 18
46 Sea Cadet Corps 30
47 Combined Cadet Force 30
48 Army Cadet Force 30
49 Air Training Corps 30
50 Scout Association 30
51 Girlguiding London & South East England 30
52 Boys Brigade 30
53 Girls Brigade England & Wales 30
54 Church Lads & Church Girls Brigade 30
55 Metropolitan Police Volunteer Police Cadets 18
56 St John Ambulance Cadets 18
57 YMCA 12
Total 1,621
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