Free Republic

The pirouetting Palace guardsman: Soldier captured on video showing off his dance moves to delighted tourists (but top brass aren't so impressed) Guarding the Queen’s home is a serious and solemn duty. So it’s a good thing Her Majesty was not around to see this soldier apparently pirouetting on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace. In his red tunic and bearskin, the Grenadier Guard was filmed seemingly trying to ease the boredom of his two-hour shift with a series of remarkably elegant dance moves. His antics delighted tourists but the Army and Ministry of Defence were not amused. He could now...

The heroic last stand of a young soldier who died trying to defeat an insurgent sniper team has been recognised with the posthumous awarding of the Victoria Cross (VC), the country's highest recognition for valour. Lance Corporal James Ashworth, aged 23 from Kettering, Northamptonshire, was killed by enemy fire when he made a lone advance on an insurgent position that was engaged in a deadly battle with his platoon in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand, Afghanistan. His family (pictured top) were invited to a special media event at Lille Barracks, home of 1 Grenadier Guards, today, where Commander 12...