Story: Nana Sifa Twum, London
Film On Ghanaian Major Commanding The Queen’s Guard In London Published
The Commonwealth and Foreign Office in London has published a documentary on a Ghanaian Commander of the Queen’s Guard, Major Twumasi Ankrah
The film on the Ghanaian Commander of the world’s most famous guard command, The Household Cavalry Mounted regiment also commemorated this year’s annual Trooping the Colour in London.
The regiment, led the annual Trooping The Colour Ceremony to commemorate the Queen’s Birthday this year.
Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed by regiments of the Commonwealth and the British Army. It has been a tradition of British infantry regiments since the 17th century, marking the official birthday of the British Sovereign since 1748. It is held annually on Horse Guards Parade and sees the Queen travel down the Mall from Buckingham Palace in a Royal Procession Major Twumasi-Ankrah now leads the Household Cavalry Mounted regiment, commanding 120 men and their horses.
The Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and is one of two regiments that are formed from the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1992, under the Option for Change reforms, by the amalgamation of The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals.
The regiment is part of the Household Cavalry, which is a corps in its own right, rather than the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC). However, it serves as one of the five formation reconnaissance, for which it is equipped with various vehicles including the FV107 Scimitar, and is considered, for operational purposes, as part of the RAC.
The Household Cavalry, made up of two units, is the oldest and most distinguished regiment in the British Army. It is unique in that its soldiers carry out active tours of duty in conflict zones overseas like Afghanistan in addition to performing state ceremonial duties. They were involved in the Royal Wedding ceremony in May.
The film is one of the ‘See Britain through my eyes’ series featuring individuals from at home and abroad talking about their experiences of modern Britain in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games. The Major’s film is being released to coincide with Trooping the Colour, the annual world famous display of pageantry and to mark the Queen's official birthday where the Household Cavalry and others parade before the Queen. This year Prince William will take part in the parade for the first time.
In the film, the Major reminisces about watching the Queen’s Birthday Parade on the television as a child in Ghana, not realising years later he would command the very regiment he saw taking part. He moved to the U.K. in 1982 with his family.
This will be his second major official outing with the regiment. The first was in March 2007 when he escorted the Queen and the then Ghanaian President, John Agyekum Kufuor as part of the Ghanaian state visit in that year.
The documentary captures Major Twumasi-Ankrah’s military activities as the commander of the prestigious regiment as well as interviews he granted regarding his role and his thoughts on living in the UK.
As the first black officer commissioned in the Household Cavalry commanding 120 men and 120 horses, the Major believes the diverse make-up of his regiment embodies the wider modern Britain where “officers from so many backgrounds all mix together as one.”
“My first ever venture into the state ceremonial side of our Regiment was for the Ghanaian State Visit. Having to escort Her Majesty the Queen and also the President of Ghana was an incredible privilege for me. We had lots of Ghanaians in the crowd so there was lots of drumming and shouting and cheering.” He noted
The link below has the footage published by the Foreign office.
http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=6390
