I would submit that if assaulting someone is the byproduct of relieving tension, then the aim of marching up and down clearly isn't working and needs to be reconsidered. And we don't want that, do we?

I wouldn't dissagree with that in the slightest and I'm pretty certain it'd be a valid and justifiable defence. But it opens up a whole new can of worms doesn't it? HM Queen guarded by downgraded nutters etc.

What is more worrying is that he didn't use his brains either, and did it it infront of the world (although understandable behaviour for a woodentop). The Sgt of The Guard should have allocated a man to quietly follow them back to their hostel and then torch it as they slept.

On a larger scale, where would we be if everyone was able to snap simply because some insignificant scroat took the piss out of them?

disclaimer: only joking about the torching the hostel bit

I think he should be severly disciplined. Honestly, he's provided with a perfectly good bayonet & failed to use it! Shame on you!:=

I'm with Hipper and Al R on this one: so far 17,718 views of this YouTube vid have been made, and all the public will see is a tourist innocently sodding about and the bloke who should be under control and able to control himself in the face of provocation (eg on peacekeeping / patrolling in the badlands) losing it when not faced with any kind of threat.

I understand his frustrations, but this isn't big or clever!

And looking at the amount of foliage on the trees, it certainly wasn't shot yesterday, either... so much for the "forces friend" at "The Sun" :hmm:

S41

(edited for grammor....)

It probably isn't fake as dressing up in the uniform and carrying a replica gun doesn't go unnoticed for very long in London. The Mall is in the background with no traffic so it was shot on a Sunday, probably in the afternoon.

The shot has been taken into an edit suite and the graphic inserted over the slomo so it has been handled by professionals. We have to wonder at the timing of the release of the video, if not obvious now it may become apparent what the Sun are up to (if anything) in due course.


The idiot mimic may well be speaking during the entire walk, so it may be something he said that triggered the response. (or the tone of what he was saying if the guard did not understand the language)

It is curious as to why the clip apparently ends where it does. The reaction to stop filming seems too fast for an amateur who would tend to take a few seconds longer to react. Looks like the end of the clip has been edited for maximum effect, which suggests that the next few seconds after the guard pushes the idiot are less dramatic, like maybe the guard quickly gets back to marching and the idiot makes an apologetic gesture.

If it is a setup then it is VERY clever has they didn't go overboard with an OTT reaction.

Would like a translation of what the idiot is saying


Mickjoebill

The whole things screams "fake!"

IF however it IS genuine then I believe this guy will be in very deep pooh. It is one of the hallowed traditions of this mob that they NEVER react to provocation by tourists and bystanders and will ignore whatever is done in the way of jeering, catcalling, mimickery and posing photos being taken.

As for you lot advocating that he should have murdered the nerd, get a life you saddos..................

Some would say the tourist has committed an offence. Obstructing a Serviceman in the execution of his Duty?? Attempted suicide in a public place?

Two penneth
 

If this is genuine, then I am with the Guardsman all the way.
Al R, you seem to be mellowing too much in your old age, and maybe are forgetting how YOU felt when doing stag/guard. I may have done my guard duties twenty years ago, and while most were boring and tedious, it was not uncommon to be spat upon, called names, made fun of, and on one occasion shot at five times with a repeating shotgun at close range*!, so bear in mind that WE don't know what was on the guardsman's mind,or what he had recently been through!

That said, although I applaud what he did, it was still wrong (as per code of conduct) and could have better been dealt with by an outsider summoned from the sentry boxes foot buzzer (if fitted)

*As for the shotgun incident, my trusty pick axe handle (no weapons in those days) was applied surgically the the assaulter's head, and he decided to lie down and rest there and then.:}

Provoked, yes. Responded badly, never. Different in the bar mind. But whatever I was (or wasn't) like, being provoked by a nerd on PDs is nothing to being prodded with harrassing, nuisance or ranging fire - what would he have done then (assuming the guy was pukka)?

I've just watched The Big Match from 1979 and I was struck by the lack of dissent towards the ref and between the players. Perhaps its just the way we are these days, perhaps I'm in that Twilight Zone between being a nipper and a grumpy old man.

Must dash, 007 is on ITV4. :suspect:

We don't know how the film was edited, there could have been considerable prior provocation ect, I hope the CO gives him a hefty fine because it will be more than repaid in free beers ect.

The sentries at Buckingham Palace used to be outside the main gates on the public footpath but were moved inside because of public interference of varying degrees.

Just seen this. Why did he only cuff him? I would have thought one of those ammo boots administered to the twits jacksie would have been much more effective. OTOH, of course, he should have let it go. There's always the possibility he could meet the pillock off duty in some London hostelry later that evening. THAT would have been poetic.

I'm with Al R, Squirrel and, dare I say it, pr00ne. The civvy moron wasn't doing anything bad - he was just being a dick - and I don't like the idea of ill-disciplined guardsmen roaming the streets (at least, not on duty). While I don't know the background of the story (was this day 874 of a sustained campaign of piss-taking?), I don't expect servicemen in uniform to react as they would off-duty in a town centre at kick out. Sure, it's popular to want to smack a piss-taking civvy, but what the civvy did was hardly a capital offence. If 'our boys' start lashing out at the smallest of provocations, we just become any other army.

On another board, someone posted this:

I don't think anyone is really advocating murdering someone....:ugh:

Slightly surprised at some of the lawyer style tree hugging responses here.

We train young men to be aggressive fighting machines, it is a fact of life that this mentality may manifest itself in a number of ways in a number of situations.We gave him a rifle and bayonet so he must be guarding something..Yes, a chav ******** is no great threat but how far does it have to go, what next ?grabbing his gun for a laugh to put on youtube.Come on.

I take it none of you have ever had a night out in camberley (old days) or bicester or any pace else the army are, if you want serious 'loosing it' i suggest you try it.

GK121,

If that is true then it's nice to see the military, unlike the civilians who have posted on this thread, taking such a sensible and pragmatic stance :ok:

My stepson is in the Micks, says this incident was genuine enough and also it happened over a month ago!!

The civilian was a dick head and deserved a slap for taking the pish. By another civvy perhaps. But the soldier should have been well above it. Can't be the first time a guardsman's had to put up with some 2@ takin' the pish Shirley? That said I hope the gaurdsman receives nothing more than advice on how to slap dick heads in a stealthy manner.

As a former USMC Sgt, I can tell you that there are many, many ways by which his superiors can make their displeasure known without "official punishment".

The decision to "keep it in-house" was probably based more on legal issues, not as an "excusing" of his behavior.

With the state of society in both our democracies, formal punishment would have been followed by a claim for monetary compensation for "physical & emotional damages" from the a$$hole civvie... and would signal an "open season" for those who want a fast buck to try ever-increasing levels of harassment of Guards to try to provoke a reaction that could then be sued over.

No, this is exactly the right way to handle it... put a damper on any cash-hungry a$$holes & solicitors, while making the individual who lost self-control/discipline pay for his indiscretion out of the public gaze... and he will be punished, make no mistake about it!