There is very little I can tell you about The Royal Marines other than they are part of The British Armed Forces and that they have one of the toughest training and selection processes.
I can also tell you that they address one another as ‘Royal’, say “Hoofing” an awful lot and have a tradition of ‘Port Fines’ for minor misbehavior and breeches of etiquette at the dinning table.
I spent a day and evening with some Royal Marines that are current serving, ex-serving, reservists and cadets.
What I witnessed was a sense of fun, respect, camaraderie, love and warmth that is only found in the closest of families and those friends that we hold dear.
I was fortunate to be in the company of these extremely humble people at a time when I had to produce ten images for a photo essay. Commando 999 is a charity that organised this current event where the serving and ex Marines (One was 77 years old) undertook a thirteen mile speed march through London with the cadets joining them for the last three miles.
Distinguished guests included The Prime Minister and high ranking officers within the admiralty and the MOD.
The Military housewives Choir performed on The Mall and at The Regimental Dinner.
The Royal Marines Band also performed their duties at The Graspan Memorial and again at The Regimental Dinner that evening. I managed to take a number of images throughout the day however I was not there in the capacity of a photographer and thus was greatly limited with regards to positioning myself and therefore restricted in composing my images.
I hope you enjoyed the images that I have selected to share with you. It was a great privilege to follow the event and enjoy their company in the evening.
Thankfully as a civilian I escaped the port fine for not having a self tie dickie bow.
A huge thank you to the organisers of Commando 999 and those taking part for allowing me this opportunity.
Kind regards,
Jim Jimmy James
jim-jimmy-james 
Looks like a good event Jimmy. My cousin was in the Marines for a long time, before coming out to join the Met, where he still works, at Palaces. I hope that other readers click on the photos individually, and look at them enlarged, as I always do. They are much better like that, as they can feel ‘compressed’, especially if viewed from the e mails.
Given your unofficial status, I think you did well. My favourite is the older guy, alone at the back, with the flag in his backpack.
Best wishes as always, Pete.
Thanks Pete.
Would love to have a real project I can get my teeth stuck into. I have a few friends that are former royal marine commandos and a massive amount of respect for them. I guess when we feel that way we always want to do better.
As always, thanks for comments and support.
Jimmy.
Jimmy, perhaps you could use your job contacts, and do a ‘Day in A&E’? Easy enough to get disclaimer pads, and ask permission of the patient later. Just a thought.