Beating retreat

thumb|A band performance at India's [[Beating Retreat#India|Beat Retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk in 2018.]]

Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle.

History

Originally it was known as watch setting and was initiated at sunset by the firing of a single round from the evening gun.

An order from the army of James II of England, otherwise known as James VII of Scotland, dated to 18 June 1690 had his drums beating an order for his troops to retreat and a later order, from William III in 1694 read "The Drum Major and Drummers of the Regiment which gives a Captain of the Main Guard are to beat the Retreat through the large street, or as may be ordered. They are to be answered by all the Drummers of the guards, and by four Drummers of each Regiment in their respective Quarters". However, either or both orders may refer to the ceremonial tattoo.

left|thumb|The Massed Bands of the Household Division perform in the fireworks finale at Beating Retreat 2013.

For the first time ever in England, a foreign band was allowed to play at the Beating Retreat on 5 June 2008. This band was that of the first Battalion Royal Malay Regiment, who had been helping to guard London, by mounting guards at the palaces. This ceremony is also the main event at the festival. Like its name implies, the guard serves ceremonial public duties inside the Canadian capital. In previous years, foreign drill units have also taken part in the tattoo, including units such as the German Navy Silent Drill Team, the Bermuda Regiment Band, the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band.

India

Background and history

thumb|240x180px|Beating Retreat and Tattoo ceremony at Gateway of India.

Beating retreat in India officially denotes the formal end of Republic Day festivities. It is conducted on the evening of 29 January, the third day after the Republic Day and is organized by Section D of the Ministry of Defence. It is performed by the bands of all branches of the armed forces , the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, and pipe bands from the Army, and a massed formation of bands of the Central Armed Police Forces and the Delhi Police. The venue is Raisina Hills and an adjacent square, Vijay Chowk, flanked by the North and South blocks of the Central Secretariat and the Rashtrapati Bhavan towards the end of Kartavya Path.

thumb|Band performing at the ‘Beating Retreat’ ceremony 2022.

The ceremony was started in 1955 and has been a hallmark of Republic Day celebrations ever since. Brig Bewoor and Maj Roberts of Ceremonial and Welfare Directorate of Indian Army conceived the first Beating Retreat in India. Army, Air Force and Navy bands consisting of pipes, drums, buglers and trumpeters from various regiments took part. It has become an official ceremony to have a Head of State of a country as the chief guest and that year the Beating Retreat was in their honour.

Order of ceremony

thumb|Vijay Chowk at [[Rajpath|Kartavya Path, with Secretariat Buildings in the background, New Delhi, the venue of the Beat Retreat ceremony.]]

The chief guest of the function is the President of India who arrives escorted by the President's Bodyguard (PBG). When the President arrives, a fanfare is sounded by the trumpeters of the Brigade of the Guards on their fanfare trumpets, and then the PBG commander asks the unit to give the national salute, which is followed by the playing of the Indian national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, by the massed bands, and at the same time by the unfurling of the flag of India on the flagpole right at the Vijay Chowk.

The ceremony starts by the massed bands of the three services marching in unison, playing popular marching tunes like Colonel Bogey March, Sons of the Brave and Qadam Qadam Badhaye Ja. The fanfare by the buglers is then followed by the bands of the Navy and the Air Force. This part of the ceremony ends with their compound marches involving movements to form intricate and beautiful patterns and concert pieces. Then the pipes and drums of the Indian Army play traditional Scottish tunes and Indian tunes like Gurkha Brigade, Neer's Sagar Samraat and Chaandni. The pipe bands also does a compound march and formation numbers. The massed military bands of the Indian Army perform last, marching forward in quick time, then breaking into slow time, then by the "compound marches". The massed military bands, again, breaks into quick time and goes back to the farthest end of Raisina Hills to reunite with the other bands. One such beating retreat ceremony by the Armed Forces bands was during the 1982 Asian Games closing ceremony in New Delhi, for which the credit went to the Indian Army's retired music director Harold Joseph, and the Indian Navy's Jerome Rodrigues and M.S. Neer, some of the greatest musicians, conductors, composers and instrumentalists of the Indian Armed Forces bands, who had led the massed bands at the ceremony.

Aside from these, the 2016 retreat saw the first appearance of marching bands from Central Armed Police Forces and the Delhi Police, plus performances by the Army Symphony Orchestra and Traditional Ensemble, the latter using a mix of traditional European and Indian instruments. The use of certain Indian instruments which require the musician to sit down while playing are a departure from the concept of the ceremony being one that is usually executed by musicians while marching. The appearance of Police Forces was a recognition of their role being as vital as that of the Indian Armed Forces. The massed bands of the CAPFs, in recent events, perform before the military bands.

All five to six band contingents march forward and take position close to the President's seat. The drummers, mostly from the Army's pipe bands, give a solo performance, known as the Drummer's Call. A regular feature of this pageant is the last tune played before the Retreat, when the national flag is lowered. It is the famous hymn written by Henry Francis Lyte, Abide With Me(replaced by " Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon) set to music by William Henry Monk and one of Mahatma Gandhi's personal favorite hymns, and has remained part of the ceremony over the years when many other foreign tunes were phased out to make way for Indian tunes, especially during the 2011 ceremony.

In the past, this finale was also followed up by a short fireworks display.

Pakistan

The Wagah border closing 'lowering of the flags' ceremony is a daily military practice that the security forces of India (Border Security Force) and Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) have jointly followed since 1959.

The ceremony has been filmed and broadcast by Michael Palin for one of his television around-the-world travel programs; he described it as a display of "carefully choreographed contempt."

Jordan

The Beating Retreat of the massed pipe and brass bands of the Royal Jordanian Army is held in the national capital of Amman. In attendance is usually the King and Queen of Jordan, as well as many other senior members of the House of Hashim, the Government, and the military establishment. The ceremony is held in connection with the celebrations of Independence Day, Army Day and the Great Arab Revolt (held in May, June and September respectively). The ceremony has taken place annually since the early 1950s, when it was introduced by King Hussein of Jordan. Organized by the Royal Guard, the tattoo features the Jordanian Armed Forces Band, the Al Hussein Musical Pipe Band, the armed forces drill team, and a camel mounted equestrian drill team.

New Zealand

The New Zealand Defence Force traditionally displays a Beating Retreat ceremony every year around Anzac Day. Most ceremonies see musicians of the New Zealand Army Band, and troops of the New Zealand Army and the Royal New Zealand Air Force on parade forming a guard of honour for the reviewing officer, usually the Governor-General of New Zealand or the Mayor of Wellington.

United States

The "Ceremony of Beating retreat" takes place annually at the United States Merchant Marine Academy and usually includes the USMMA Band and selected midshipmen. The ceremony takes place on a parent weekend, in order to give parents of midshipmen an opportunity to attend. Concurrently, at The Citadel there is a weekly tradition of retreat parades which were first written into regulations in 1845. Combining drill elements and a performance by The Regimental Band and Pipes, the purpose is to inspect the Corps, render honors, preserve tradition and foster a sense of unity among cadets. Some of the college's parades also include award presentations and recognitions for alumni and other honored guests.

Besides these examples, the United States Marine Corps Friday Evening Parade and Sunset Parade are the closest military equivalent to the Household Division Beating Retreat. Both parades are military tattoos that are performed by the troops of Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., who are personnel of the USMC, thus they are more modeled on the biannual Royal Marines ceremony.

References

Abide With Me, Hymn, Massed Bands, Composed by W H Monk, at Beating Retreat, New Delhi, 29 January 2011

External links

Household Division Ceremonial Events
Beating Retreat British Army
Royal Marines Beating Retreat
Australian War Memorial
About Beating Retreat including video