Colours

From Free net encyclopedia

This article discusses military ceremony and regalia. For other uses, see Color (disambiguation).

Ceremonies

The British Royal Navy, the Canadian Forces, and other navies of the Commonwealth call colours the flag-raising ceremony that happens every morning when a ship is in harbour — "Colours! Face aft and salute." At the end of the ceremony the officer in charge gives the order "Carry on".

The United States Navy performs the same ceremony, spelled Colors — usually at 08:00 each day. The Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 occurred during Colors.

Flags

In British Army usage, the colours consist of the flags carried by infantry units and which carry the unit's name, badges, achievements and battle honours. (In the case of cavalry units one speaks of standards or of guidons). Military personnel always accord the colurs the greatest respect and salute them when carried uncovered. British infantry regiments (except Rifle Regiments) normally have two colours: the Queen's Colour (the senior) carrying the battle honours from World Wars I and II; and the Regimental Colour carrying all other battle honours. One unit, 1st Battalion The Royal Highland Fusiliers carries a third colour, the Assaye Colour, to commemorate participation in the battle of Assaye (1803) in India.

Modern United States Army battalions carry a regimental color as well as the National Flag. The regimental color is a bald eagle with the regimental crest charged upon it. However, the color which receives honors is the National Flag.

Colours represent the pride of a regimental unit, whether in the army, air force or navy. The concept of colours originated from the Middle Ages, when lords and barons would lead their men to battle. In large-scale military encounters the need arose to establish a rallying point, so commanders used coloured flags to denote rallying points, hence the term "Colours". The bravest subaltern carried the colours in battle (the subaltern tradition still continues today) and since the falling of the colours represented defeat of the forces, troops would often attack them. Hence arose a need for escorts, originally pikemen. In modern days, although colours no longer appear on the battlefield, they remain objects of respect, and many of the traditions started during the Middle Ages still exist today.