The modern Army Show is the latest incarnation of the military shows at Aldershot which began in the late nineteenth century with a Tattoo arranged for the visit of Queen Victoria on 11th July 1894. Performed by numerous regiments and military bands, this was held in the grounds behind the Royal Pavilion and was a torchlight tattoo commencing at 10 o’clock in the evening, attended by many thousands of spectators. For the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 the main military tattoo was held at Windsor but with a full rehearsal two weeks beforehand at Aldershot, followed by a grand military review at Aldershot before the Queen on Jubilee Day (1st July) in which 28,000 soldiers marched past Her Majesty. Further reviews were held annually for the Queen’s birthday until the Boer War brought them to en end.
In 1904 the first of the Aldershot Military Fetes was held in the grounds of Government House, then the residence of the General Officer Commanding in Aldershot. Opened by the Duke of Connaught, the Fete was in aid of Service charities and included bands, riding displays, a musical ride by the artillery, a gymnastic display, and a military pageant “representing past and present uniforms and accoutrements of the service”. The fete concluded with an evening torchlight tattoo. The Fetes became annual events, and such was their success that it was reported in 1906 that the Executive Committee “distributed upwards of £600 among the local military institutions and charities” (the equivalent of over £44,000 in today’s money). From 1907 the event was renamed the “Aldershot Military Tournament” and each year grew in popularity and size, until by 1914 it was held over four days, the massed bands display had 1,500 musicians taking part, and the evening tattoo was illuminated by searchlights provided by the Royal Flying Corps. However, this would be the last of the Aldershot Military Tournaments as the First World War broke out two months later.
In August 1918 a new show was inaugurated, the “Aldershot Command Horse Show”, held on the Army Athletic Ground (now the Aldershot Military Stadium). This included 20 competition classes for horses and riders, including a competition for gun teams which was particularly popular with the large crowd of spectators. Such was the success of the show that it became an annual event and an essential date in the Aldershot calendar.
The more traditional military tattoos were revived in 1920 with a three-day show held from 16th to 18th June. This took on the pattern of the pre-war tournaments, being an evening event illuminated by searchlights. It featured all the popular aspects of the old shows but now also had the participation of night-flying aircraft. Established as an annual event, the Aldershot Searchlight Tattoos became nationally renowned and grew into huge spectaculars. Initially held on Cove Common, from 1923 they moved to the specially constructed Rushmoor Arena. From 1925 massive historical recreations were a major feature of the shows, such as the burning of Moscow (accompanied by the 1812 Overture) and the Battle of Waterloo. The spectacular climax to the Tattoos included huge numbers of bands, soldiers, guns and fireworks, illuminated solely by the searchlights. By the 1939 Tattoo 33 searchlights were used, producing 3 billion candlepower. The numbers tell the tale of these shows, with 5,000 soldiers in the arena, another 1,000 involved in administration, crowds of up to 500,000, and sufficient income so that in 1936 £40,633 was donated from the profits to military charities (worth £1.8 million in present day value). The Searchlight Tattoos ended with the 1939 event, as the country was plunged into the Second World War.
As had happened after the First World War, after World War Two the first of the shows to be revived was the Horse Show. Before the War this had also been held in the Rushmoor Arena but when reintroduced in 1945 it took place in the Command Stadium, moving back to the Rushmoor Arena in 1952 and then to Queen’s Parade in 1965.
In post-war Britain any event on the scale of the old Searchlight Tattoos was out of the question. There was a suggestion in 1950 that a tattoo in Aldershot would be held in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain and contractors began cleaning and repairing the Rushmoor Arena, but it was announced in November 1950 that army commitments made a tattoo impossible. The 1961 Horse Show ended with an evening tattoo attended by an audience of 10,000, but hopes that this signified a revival of the old Aldershot shows were dashed in January 1962 when it was announced that plans for another tattoo that year had been cancelled.
The following year a new style of show was established, when the first Aldershot Army Display was held over three days in June 1963 on Queen’s Parade. Arena events included military bands, gymnastic displays, mounted troops, motorbike display teams, and the Red Devils free-fall parachute team. Around the arena were many static displays in which could be seen the arms, equipment, training and specialist activities of the different arms and services. The Aldershot Army Display was held annually and drew large crowds, showing that there was still an audience for this type of event. In 1972 the show moved to the Rushmoor Arena, the home of the old tattoos, expanding in size and popularity. The Army Displays continued as an annual event (except for 1979) before they were stopped in 1984 owing to security concerns and the other commitments of the Army.
The modern Army Show began in 2002, with an Army Open Day arranged as part of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations. This proved so popular that the Army joined in partnership with Rushmoor Borough Council to launch a new two-day Army Show in July 2004, initially in parallel with the Horse Show but the latter subsequently moved to Tweseldown leaving the new Army Show filling the Queen’s Parade with displays and activities. Once again established as an annual event, the modern Army Show has been a great success, capturing the public imagination with ever increasing numbers attending, some 60,000 visitors coming to the 2006 show. Continuing the great traditions of the original shows, the Army Show brings to the public the colour and spectacle of military bands, the Royal Horse Artillery gun teams, free-fall Parachute displays, army motorcycle display teams, and many stands from regiments and corps showing the life and work of the modern soldier. Now joined by numerous civilian groups and historical organisations presenting a huge range of displays alongside the Army stands, the Aldershot Army Show today includes a great variety of events and activities sure to interest everyone.
