On the March
The New Forest area has seen military activity before the outbreak of WWI.
4th V B Hants “On the road to Camp” Beaulieu – 1907
This photo shows infantry soldiers marching along, in formation, a track/road. At the head of the column are the Officers followed by a military band with the rest of the troops behind. A white gate can be seen, at the edge of the road in the distance. Image Courtesy of Lymington.org
The photo title “4th V B Hants” stands for the 4th Volunteer Battalion, Hampshire and it is thought that these troops are entering or leaving the Beaulieu estate “on their way to camp”. Some photographs dated 1908 show a tented military camp in the Beaulieu area and a later 1909 show troops “Trooping the Colour”. So this may have been a regular event.
Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed by regiments of the British and Commonwealth armies. It has been a tradition of British infantry regiments since the 17th century, although the roots go back much earlier. On battlefields, a regiment’s colours, or flags, were used as rallying points and to assist the troops in recognising their colour the troops would be shown their colour in this ceremony.
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Two linked articles with pre-WWI New Forest military activity around the Beaulieu area are: