Forces salute for Queen's 80th birthday
21 Apr 06
Military personnel took time out of their normal duties to pay tribute to Her Majesty The Queen as she celebrated
her 80th birthday on Friday 21 April 2006.
Soldiers from 7th Parachute Regiment fire a 21-gun salute
[Picture: Chris Fletcher]
All over the country, at exactly 12 noon, a series of 21-gun salutes were fired by the forces in celebration. At both Sterling and Edinburgh Castles, gunners from the Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities Officers Training Corps fired the 21-gun salute. Uniquely, this was also the first time that students fired the salute from Stirling Castle; it is usually carried out by the Gunners of 212 (Highland) Battery, 105 Regiment Artillery.
At Colchester, the first firing of a Royal Salute took place from the newly created Colchester Saluting Station. The salute was fired by 7th Parachute Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery. Meanwhile, at Cardiff Castle in Wales, the salute was fired by C (Glamorgan Yeomanry) Troop, 211 (South Wales) Battery Royal Artillery (Volunteers).
And even in Gibraltar the guns were fired, with the salute taken by the Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General J N R Houghton CBE who was visiting British Forces Gibraltar for the first time since taking up his new post earlier this year.
21-Gun Salute from HMS Kent
[Picture: LA(Phot) Chris Winter, Fleet Regional Photographic Section (West) ]
The Navy also got in on the act with HMS Kent firing a 21-gun salute while at anchor in Plymouth Sound. In celebration, warships moored at Devenport Naval Base flew flags across their decks.
Foreign ships from the Standing Naval Maritime Group 1 also took part. Standing Naval Maritime Group 1 is a squadron of eight to ten destroyers froma across NATO countries that patrols mainly in the eastern Atlantic counducting joint training exercises. The group are currently taking part in Flag Officer Sea Training at Devonport. Devonport ships HMS Bulwark and HMS Montrose who are away on deployment also flew flags from their mastheads.
We would also like to add a 'Happy Birthday' to Her Majesty from everybody at the Defence News Team at the Ministry of Defence Headquarters in London.