Cittie of London Brigade, The Armie of Parliament, Sealed Knot
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cittie of london brigade
ORDERS BY DRUM
The Brigade Commander has a squeaky voice, and pretends he's a gentleman. He doesn't want to do all of that coarse shouting; he has people to do that for him, so his plan is to ask the Brigade Drum Major and the drums of the brigade to beat the following orders by the drum. The drums are an integral part of the command and control of the City of London Brigade, and are therefore required to remain alert to repeat the orders issued by the Brigade Commander to the Brigade Drum Major. As a consequence of this level of responsibility, there will be a possibility for drummers to achieve a military rank to recognise their skill and abilities.
The key to this all working is for the drums to be a loud and constant presence when the brigade is on manouvres. When we are forming up at the beginning of the battle you will hear:
1. THE CALL - bringing everyone into their ranks and files at the ORDER. When the brigade needs to march off you will hear;
2. THE ADVANCE - you will advance your pikes and shoulder your muskets. When you are told to 'March On' you will hear;
3. THE TROOP which will be played through three times [Pikes will be kept at the advance, and muskets at the shoulder until the drums change into a Marching tune]. NCO's may give the order 'Bring your Ranks to the OPEN ORDER' and pikes may be shouldered whilst marching. When we arrive at the battlefield, you will hear the order 'Brigade will Troop' and you will hear 3.THE TROOP again - bring your pikes to the advance, your muskets to the shoulder, and you will close your ranks to the ORDER. By closing everything up we will be making things easy to hear, for manouvres to be much snappier, and ultimately much smarter! The brigade may be given orders to manouvre into a formation (or we may continue onto another march). Once in that formation (other than a Marching Companie or Column) and the order 'The Brigade will advance' we will remain with our ranks and files at ORDER so there is no need to beat 3.THE TROOP again, instead we will advance under;
4. BATTALIA MARCH [for which the Brigade Commander has selected The Scots March for its purposeful and slightly sinister qualities]. We are heavy infantry - we do not run! Once things are getting close to the enemy the Brigade Commander may wish to bring the pikes to the charge, and this may be given by a verbal order from the Brigade Commander - 'Charge your pikes and muskets!' or by the brigade drum major being asked to beat;
5. THE BATTAILE. Once the engagement has achieved its success the reform will be called by the Brigade Commander and the drums will begin playing;
6. THE RETREAT which is not a rout, or a run-away, it is to be a controlled retirement in the face of the enemy, with Cittie of London Brigade Units supporting each other in the withdrawal.
Please ALL listen and learn these calls - this is how the brigade will run from now on.
The key to this all working is for the drums to be a loud and constant presence when the brigade is on manouvres. When we are forming up at the beginning of the battle you will hear:
1. THE CALL - bringing everyone into their ranks and files at the ORDER. When the brigade needs to march off you will hear;
2. THE ADVANCE - you will advance your pikes and shoulder your muskets. When you are told to 'March On' you will hear;
3. THE TROOP which will be played through three times [Pikes will be kept at the advance, and muskets at the shoulder until the drums change into a Marching tune]. NCO's may give the order 'Bring your Ranks to the OPEN ORDER' and pikes may be shouldered whilst marching. When we arrive at the battlefield, you will hear the order 'Brigade will Troop' and you will hear 3.THE TROOP again - bring your pikes to the advance, your muskets to the shoulder, and you will close your ranks to the ORDER. By closing everything up we will be making things easy to hear, for manouvres to be much snappier, and ultimately much smarter! The brigade may be given orders to manouvre into a formation (or we may continue onto another march). Once in that formation (other than a Marching Companie or Column) and the order 'The Brigade will advance' we will remain with our ranks and files at ORDER so there is no need to beat 3.THE TROOP again, instead we will advance under;
4. BATTALIA MARCH [for which the Brigade Commander has selected The Scots March for its purposeful and slightly sinister qualities]. We are heavy infantry - we do not run! Once things are getting close to the enemy the Brigade Commander may wish to bring the pikes to the charge, and this may be given by a verbal order from the Brigade Commander - 'Charge your pikes and muskets!' or by the brigade drum major being asked to beat;
5. THE BATTAILE. Once the engagement has achieved its success the reform will be called by the Brigade Commander and the drums will begin playing;
6. THE RETREAT which is not a rout, or a run-away, it is to be a controlled retirement in the face of the enemy, with Cittie of London Brigade Units supporting each other in the withdrawal.
Please ALL listen and learn these calls - this is how the brigade will run from now on.
1. The CALl
The Mnemonic for the drummers:
PICK UP YOUR ARMS EVERYONE; PICK UP YOUR ARMS; MUSKET, PIKE, & OFFICERS GET YOUR ARMS; THE DRUMS ARE CALLING YOU. |
BRIGADE COMMANDER: This is the drum beat I will ask the Brigade Drum Major to beat to get you all on your feet, to get you standing right in your ranks and files [which is at the ORDER], and for you to be listening to your Divisional Officers or NCO's.
The Order (if one is given) will be:
Cittie of London Brigade - Have a Care! |
2. the ADVANCE
The Mnemonic for the drummers:
PICK UP ALL YOUR ARMS, PICK THEM UP RIGHT NOW, MARCHING ON, MARCHING ON. |
BRIGADE COMMANDER: When you hear this call on the drums, you will bring your pikes to the ADVANCE and muskets to the SHOULDER. Officers & NCO's remember, you will be in ranks and files at the ORDER, so you will not be able to shoulder pikes.
The Order (if one is given) will be:
Advance your Pikes & Muskets! |
3. THE TROOP
The Mnemonic for the drummers:
LET'S TROOP 'CAUSE I THINK MY BUM'S ON FIRE; LET'S TROOP 'CAUSE I THINK MY BUM'S ON FIRE; YES IT IS, OH GOD, YES IT IS ON FIRE! |
BRIGADE COMMANDER: When we march off, the brigade will keep their pikes at the advance, and muskets at the shoulder while the TROOP is played three times. (NCO's wait for the beat to change to the march)...
When we finish a march, the brigade will close up to manouvre and pikes will be taken to ADVANCE, muskets to the SHOULDER and all dressings will be closed to the ORDER. The TROOP will be played three times. At the start of a march The Order (if one is given) will be:
The Brigade will March....on! At the end of a march The Order (if one is given) will be: The Brigade will Troop! The front of the column will immediately mark time, and the ranks will close to the ORDER along the whole column as it continues to march, all coming to mark time until the Troop has been played three times, at which point the whole brigade will STAND! NCO's keep your divisions at the advance ready to manouvre. |
at this point the brigade will manouvre!
4. battalia march
The Mnemonic for the drummers:
HURRY, HURRY, HURRY UP; LET'S GET OUT OF HERE! |
BRIGADE COMMANDER: When we have formed battalia, or deployed to give fire, a brigade advance will be accompanied by the Battalia March [which happens to be Scots March]. The pace is slow, steady and purposeful, and while it is played the brigade will remain at the ADVANCE with spacings at ORDER.
The Order (if one is given) will be:
The Brigade will Advance! |
5. the BATTAIle
The Mnemonic for the drummers:
COME ON; COME ON NOW; COME ON NOW AND HAVE A GO; IF YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN! |
BRIGADE COMMANDER: When advancing upon the enemy we go in for the CHARGE, the drums will beat the BATTAILE, and all the time that the Brigade is to charge the drums will beat this rhythm.
The Order (if one is given) will be:
Charge your pikes and muskets! |
6. the RETreat
The Mnemonic for the drummers:
LET'S GO BACKWARDS; LET'S GO REALLY SLOWLY; LETS'S GO BACKWARDS; OH MY GOD THEY'RE GETTING CLOSER! |
BRIGADE COMMANDER: All advances come to an end; but this drum call relates to the command RETIRE IN GOOD ORDER. Listen to the commands of your Divisional Officers and NCO's to ensure that you all reform in the right place. Many of our manouvres rely upon a quick reform to give us the advantage over our foes.
The Order (if one is given) will be:
The Brigade will retire in good order! |
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