| Orchestra or Band | Fifes and Drums of HM Grenadier Guards,
Band of HM Grenadier Guards,
Pipes and Drums of HM Scots Guards,
Trumpeters of The Life Guards,
Trumpeters of The Royal Horse Guards,
Trumpeters of the 10th Royal Hussars |
| Conductors | Captain G Miller,
Mr T P Ratcliff |
| Set List | Royal Entrance,
'God Save the King' (The National Anthem),
Three Cheers to HRH The Prince of Wales,
Wartime Songs:
'Pack Up Your Troubles',
'Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty',
'Who's Your Lady Friend',
'A Perfect Day',
'And When I Die',
'Cock Robin',
'Good-Bye-ee',
'Rolling Home',
'Are We Downhearted?',
'If You Were The Only Girl In The World',
'K-K-K-Katy',
'I Want To Go Home',
'Soldiers of The King',
'The Reason Why',
'Sister Susie',
'The Long, Long Trail',
'John Brown's Body',
'Keep The Home Fires Burning',
'Tipperary'
Service of Remembrance:
Two minute silence,
'The Last Post and Reveille' (Trumpeters of the Life Guards, Royal Horse Guards, 10th Royal Hussars),
Hymn 'O God, Our Help In Ages Past',
Speech (HRH The Prince of Wales),
'For He's A Jolly Good Fellow' (Audience),
Hymn 'Onward, Christian Soldiers',
Prayers (Bishop of London),
'God Save the King' (The National Anthem)
Torchlight Procession to the Cenotaph (20,000 ex-service men and HRH The Prince of Wales, Winston Churchill MP etc).
Wartime Songs (Band of the Irish Guards) |
| Royal Presence | HRH The Prince of Wales (future Edward VIII) |
| Performance Notes | "The Prince of Wales was received with demonstrations of loyalty and affection by 10,000 ex-Service men and women assembled in the Albert Hall last night at a Remembrance Festival. When the Prince entered the Royal Box the audience all wearing their service decorations rose to their feet, sang the National Anthem, and raised rounds of cheers. The Prince repeatedly bowed his acknowledgments. After the demonstrators had sung 'For He's a Jolly Good Fellow', with great heartiness the cheering continued for several minutes before the Prince could take his seat. The Chancellor of the Exchequer [Winston Churchill], wearing his war decorations, and accompanied by Mrs Churchill, sat with the Prince. Others in the Royal Box were General Lord Cavan, Sir Laming Worthington-Evans (Minister for War), Field Marshall Lord Allenby, General Ian Hamilton, Major General Sir Frederick Maurice, Major General Lord Ruthven (GOC London District) and Colonel Crosfield of the British Legion. For fully an hour the audience, led by the band of the Grenadier Guards, sang old Army Songs, in several of which the Prince joined."
(The Times, 12 November 1927)
The event was broadcast experimentally via BBC Radio to the Empire. During the programme the Prince of Wales gave a short address. (Daily Telegraph, 1 November 1927)
Journalist Henry Canova Vollam Morton (known as H V Morton), wrote:-
"There was never anything like it in the history of re-union. Ten thousand English-men, bound by the mightiest memories of our time, met together to sing to the world the songs they sang in Hell."
Afterwards, the Prince of Wales led the whole audience on a torch-lit procession from Kensington to the Cenotaph, which thousands of people joined continuing beyond nightfall including the Grenadier Guards wearing bearskin hats. The procession included people on specially hired buses, those marching with banners and was floodlight at points for the media.
"TORCHLIGHT MARCH.
20,000 EX-SERVICE MEN.
LED BY PRINCE OF WALES.
Following a great Festival of Remebrance for those who fell in the war, the Prince of Wales marched last night from the Albert Hall to the centotaph at the head of a torchlight procession which, ona conservative estimates, must have numbered at least 20,000 ex-Service men.
Hi Royal Highness, who wore a dark overcoat and bowler hat, and a long row of medals on his breast, marched with the Right Hon. Winston Churchill MP, on one side of him and General the Earl of Cavan on the other. Outside the Albert Hall dense crowds had gathered, and the whole length of the route was lined several feet deep on either side."
(The Daily Telegraph, 12 November 1927)
Footage of the procession is available from British Pathe (Film ID: VLVA7YNBUB0RSS37D6T77KUBS536C, Duration 03:16 mins).
This Remembrance Day event was promoted by the Daily Express. Applications to attend much exceeded capacity and the directors of the newspaper decided that attendance should be limited to those who had actually served in the war areas.
The Union Jack which had flown from the Menin Gate at Ypres hung over the Royal Box and from the roof hung the flags of the Grand Fleet, including Lord Jellicoe's Flag which had flown from the Iron Duke at the Battle of Jutland. The Hall was packed with bemedalled veterans each wearing a Flanders poppy. |
| Related Archival Material | Programme (RAHE/1/1927/69) |