Beating Retreat (1955)

Gosport, Hampshire. C/U of a boat figurehead bust representing the Earl St Vincent. C/U of the St Vincent crest. The Union Jack flag is being lowered - L/Ss. L/S of man in very strange uniform which includes large red and white hat lowering the flag. I think that this is a re-enactment of the 1763 Royal Marine’s ceremony of “Beating Retreat“. L/S of Marines in old fashioned uniform marching from the garrison onto the parade ground of the Boys’ Training School, . Vincent at Gosport. Various shots of the boy trainees marching. A marching band is seen, the boys look pretty young. M/S of other boys at the training school watching the parade. They wear contemporary blue shirts and trousers. Narrator explains that the uniforms of the earlier period were borrowed from the Naval Museum in Devonport so that replicas could be made. Tailoring was carried out by women volunteers, including the boys’ mothers. Narrator explains the history behind the ceremony of “Beating Retreat“ over various shots of