Image courtesy of tripologiste.com.
Yesterday was Trooping the Colour - First Battalion, Grenadier Guards were parading their new King's colour to celebrate the King's official birthday. If you missed it, you can see it on BBC iPlayer, with or without commentary.
One of my grandfathers was in the Grenadier Guards before WW2. He was called up in 1939 - he still had a few months left in the reserve, soldiers did three years active, nine years reserve with the Guards in those days - leaving behind my grandmother with two small children, and went off the France to join the 3rd Battalion near Louvain in Belgium. He made it back after the disasters of May and June, went directly to hospital at Lincoln, and was then released from service. He was then with the police force for the duration of the war. I was too young to ask about his experiences when he was alive, but he never volunteered to tell anything about it. He did march in a Trooping of the Colour when he was doing his active service before the war and my mother has a treasured photograph of him in full dress uniform.