The Royal Marines 1

The ROYAL MARINEs are the UK's only go anywhere amphibious specialists. They can trace their history back 340 years. ROAYAL MARINES are unique in that Officers and Men train at the same training center, and the training they do is the longest basic infantry training in the world. 

The Royal Marines cap badge is made up of 6 parts.

The Lion & Crown is the badge of a Royal Regiment.This was awarded by King George 111 in 1802.

The battle honour "Gibraltar" commemorates the capture & defence of the rock in 1704.

The Great Globe itself. George 1V chose this symbol to represent the Marines successes in every quarter of the world.

The Laurels are believed to honour the gallentry they dispalyed during the capture of Belle Isle in 1761.

The Fouled Anchour incorporated into the emblem in 1747, is the badge of the Lord High Admiral and indicates the Corps is part of the Royal Navy.

PER MARE PER TERRAM. The Royal Marines motto means BY SEA BY LAND. It is believed to have been used first in 1775. 

The Corps Colours are made up of 4 primary colours.

4 PARTS BLUE. Marks intimate connections with the Royal Navy & blue was the colour of the unifrom fain for over 100 years.

1 PART YELLOW. Distinctive colour of dress & ensigns of the Duke of York & Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot.

1 PART GREEN. Originally worn on shako by infantry of the Corps and perpetuated in bugle strings of the RMLI.

2 PARTS RED. Historic colour of British Army & worn by the infantry of the Corps from the earliest times.

4 PARTS BLUE. Marks intimate connections with the Royal Navy & blue was the colour of unifron facing for over 100 years. 

The Union Flag, in the centre of which is a foul anchor with the cipher of HM The Queen interlaced; above, St Edwards Crown surmounted by a scroll inscribed Gibraltar; below, the globe surrounded by a laurel wreath, under which a scroll inscribed with the Corps motto Per Mare Per Terram. The cords and tassels are of gold interwoven with silks of the Commandos colour which corresponds to the Commando lanyards worn by all ranks.

A Blue Flag with a small Union Flag in the canton nearest the pike head, and the Cypher of HM The Queen surmounted by a St Edwards Crown in the other three corners; centre embellishments are similar to the Queens Colour, except that the foul anchor is interlaced with the cipher of George IV and the Commando numeral appears below the motto. The cords and tassels are of gold interwoven with silks of the Commando's colour which corresponds to the Commando lanyards worn by all ranks.

All Officers are commissioned by the Queen. The badge of rank they wear shows that they bare the Queen's Authority. When you salute the Officer, you are saluting the badge of the Queen, not the actual person wearing it. All male Officers are addressed as "SIR". All female Officers are addressed as "MA-AM".

Non Commissioned Officers are the backbone of the Royal Marines. Lance corporal is the first step on the promotion ladder. Next is Corporal. This rank carries much more responsibility than his Army equivalent. Then comes Sergeant. These men are have years of experience and usually look after new Officers and men alike. Colour sergeant is next. Again very experienced and usually responsible for a Troop of men. Each of the above are addressed by their rank, ie; L/CPL, CPL, SGT or C/SGT.

Then come Warrant Officers. Warrant Officer 2 is equivalent to a Company Sergeant Major. Warrant Officer 1 is equivalent to a Regimental Sergeant Major. These men are NOT to be saluted, but are to be addressed as "SIR".

The Regimental Quick March
At one time each Division had its own march, which often changed as new Commandants were appointed. Amongst those used in the Divisions were The Dashing White Sergeant and Meyerbeer's Le Prophete. Until 1855 the Corps often marched past to The British Grenadiers, while the Royal Marine Artillery adopted The Soldier's Chorus from Faust. In 1882 Henry Russell's A Life on the Ocean Wave was authorised.

The Regimental Slow March
In times past, a Regimental Slow March was not officially recognised, but slow marches were used as inspection pieces. From the time the Corps performed public duties in London in 1935 The Globe and Laurel, arranged by Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel Sir) Vivian Dunn, based on the traditional old English air Early One Morning was the Regimental Slow March. In 1964, the tercentenary year, the Earl Mountbatten of Burma presented the Captain General with Colonel Dunn's score of The Preobrajensky March by Donajowsky. This was the march of the Preobrajensky Guards, of which his great uncle the Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovitch of Russia was one of the last colonels. King Alfonso XIII of Spain had presented the march to Lord Mountbatten in 1934. After its official adoption as the Corps Regimental Slow March, it was first performed when the Massed Bands Beat Retreat on Horse Guards Parade in 1964.

The Commando March
Sarie Marais, a trekking song of the Boer commandos, was often used by Commandos during World War II and was particularly popular with South African officers seconded to the Royal Marines at the time. Captain Vivian Dunn made an arrangement of it for military band in 1937 after it had been brought to his notice by Major (later Major General) A N Williams, who had recently served in South Africa. It was officially adopted it in 1952 as a march for use by Royal Marine Commandos. Today it is seldom omitted from the musical programme on ceremonial occasions.

.... is proberbly the best military band in the world. Bar none.  It is also the band of the Royal Navy, for the Royal Navy dosent have its own band. They must complete the first 15 weeks of Royal Marines basic training, then they can join the "Bandies". In times of war they also act as stretcher bearer, runner or POW guard,  but still also perform for marines enjoyment and are a great morale booster.

There are two types of bandsmen: Musician or Bugler. Musicians play a wide variety of instruments from oboe to violoncello.

Buglers were originally drummers. but nowadays buglers play both bugle and drums.

The Green Beret, or "Green Lid" as its is often refered to. When you complete you recruit training, that is what you get. Cost to buy is about £13. Personnal cost to earn it, plenty of blood sweat and tears, but a huge amount of pride when you stand in the middle of a field after your 30 miler, and you hand over your cap comforter and recieve your Green Beret.