The Massed Bands and Bugles of The Rifles and their special guests celebrate the service and the spirit of The Rifles and its forebears over the two hundred years since the Battle of Salamanca. The event is in support of Care for Casualties.
A celebration of traditional and modern military music, Swift & Bold will be performed by over 200 military musicians and special guests, including the renowned tenor Wynne Evans and rising star Alastair Caplin, the folk fiddle player.
The event will tell a musical story of The Rifles from its inception during the Peninsular Wars in Spain, so richly brought to life in Sharpe's Rifles, to the modern day operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also appearing are The Rifle's Fijian Choir and the Pipes of the Brigade of Gurkhas - all with commentary from ITN news presenter, Alastair Stewart.
Swift and Bold, which is the Regiment's motto, promises to be a unique event, combining the Regiment's musical family of Regular and Terratorial Army bands with the young cadet bands and Regimental buglers. As such, The Rifles can today boast the largest musical organisation under one cap badge in the Army - and they intend to raise the roof!
The Music
The music of The Rifles is unique within the British Army combining the band with the haunting silver bugle - the symbol of the Regiment. Featuring on the night will be
• The Band and Bugles of The Rifles
• The Rifles’ Territorial Army Salamanca and Waterloo Bands
• Rifles Army Cadet Force Bands from Somerset and Durham
• The Pipes of the Brigade of Gurkhas
• The Rifles’ Fijian Choir
• Wynne Evans, the chart-topping classical tenor singing some of The Rifles' best known songs
Audio
The Rifles’ success on the battlefield over the past five years has come at a cost. Over 60 Riflemen have been Killed in Action and countless others severely wounded. Many have lost limbs, are permanently blinded or will require long term neurological care.
Most are aged between 18 and 26 and have many years of life ahead of them. These Riflemen have served and suffered on behalf of their country and their regiment and therefore deserve our care and support. The Rifles Regimental Family believes that it has an enduring responsibility to care for its bereaved, wounded and their families.
Care for Casualties is a ring-fenced Appeal which provides immediate and long term support to the Regimental family. However seriously a Rifleman has been injured he still has a future ahead of him, the potential of which must be realised. Care for Casualties aims to do this.
For more information please visit www.careforcasualties.org.uk
The Rifles today
Five years ago, the four like-minded regiments of The Light Division came together to form The Rifles; these were The Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry, The Light Infantry, The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry and The Royal Green Jackets. Sharing a common outlook and a determination to innovate and look to the future, they embraced change and formed the largest infantry regiment in the British Army. This forward-thinking regiment has now served almost continuously at the forefront of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With its Regular Battalions based in Chepstow, Northern Ireland, Edinburgh, Bulford and Germany, The Rifles is supported by two Territorial Army Battalions in London, the Home Counties and across the South West, with further Territorial sub-units in Shropshire, Yorkshire and County Durham. The Regiment is proud of its strong and deep connections with its historic Counties. That nearly one quarter of all Army Cadets proudly wear The Rifles cap badge is the living embodiment of these enduring links.
200 years of history
It is over 200 years since Riflemen made their first appearance in the British Army using the silver bugle as a means of communication on the battlefield.
Sir John Moore, considered today to be the founding father of The Rifles, fostered the idea of the thinking, fighting man, where each individual soldier had a unique role to play on the battlefield; a bold move in what was an age of unquestioning obedience. Equipped with the Rifle, carrying no Regimental Colours and being the first to wear green jackets instead of scarlet, these 'chosen men' were at the forefront of military innovation. The Rifles today is built around the same ethos and looks forward with confidence and a relentless desire to innovate; to be one step ahead of its adversaries as were the Riflemen at Salamanca 200 years ago.
Whether a General or a new recruit, every individual in the Regiment shares the common bond of being a Rifleman. Intelligence, initiative and self-discipline are the hallmarks of a Rifleman as is professional excellence and fighting spirit. It is a point of pride to say “I am a Rifleman”. These distinct characteristics, born of a rich heritage, are now encapsulated in The Rifles’ motto, “Swift and Bold”.
For more information please visit www.army.mod.uk