To ask why the Army are at Wimbledon..?

[Limpopobongo]

Just wondering..

Security are always volunteers from the armed forces.

Police are with trump and were in London too of course plus concerns re footie violence

Friends dh is a cop and has been in London and now Thanet due to Trump then footie

Because all the police are minding Trump, and the army regularly do security at major events

The Armed Forces always do on court security at Wimbledon.

It's nothing to do with Trump the armed forces always provide security assistance at Wimbledon

But the job of the Army is the defence of the realm acting on the instructions of HM Government. Have the Government commanded the Army to attend wimbledon? If they are volunteers then surely they should be wearing civilian wear since they are not under direction of the Crown?

The army were at our local fete last weekend!

Have the government commanded the Army to attend local fetes?

Yes, they are ordered to be there. No, I don't know how it came about, but it's been going on for decades.

The army don't work weekends! They're volunteers, they haven't been commanded to do anything.

They're always there, nothing to do with Trump and they're stewards not security.

They volunteer and take leave to be there, so don't panic, you're not even paying for them.

www.wimbledondebentureholders.com/articles/wimbledon-armed-forces-history/
Maybe try putting your question to google OP. You are more likely to get the correct answer than some of the drivel that people on here spout.

...the job of the army is the defence of the realm...
Yes. That's what they are doing - they are protecting civilians. High-profile locations and events need that sort of protection nowadays, sadly.

Your point would be valid Attilla except that's not what they're there for. They're showing people to their seats etc, they have no security role.

As I said they're all on leave and have volunteered to be at the event. No cost to the taxpayer whatsoever

The army dont work weekends? Erm except they do. And often its not just army but raf and navy too.
And no they generally aren't volunteers all of them. Many I knew were forced to be security at the olympics when they didnt want to be.

However wimbledon is different and i think they have a sort of role like ushers rather than security.

Thanks rainbowunicorn..

Presumably Wimbledon or to give it its proper name, the All England Lawn Tennis club isnt a charity? It made a group profit of over £35 million in the last financial year so why does it solicit/encourage volunteers when they could easily hire,train and pay professional stewards?

If i go to a concert,as happens occasionally, i dont see people in military dress checking tickets and ushering people to their seats.

Isnt this really about the good old establishment ?

They volunteer but are still on duty and her under orders to carry out that duty.
The armed forces always do Wimbledon security.

They’ve been doing this for years and years. It shows as it runs like clockwork.

Think they are volunteers

The Olympics may have been different, being an important national event but this is a commercial venture and they (all the services) absolutely are all volunteers.

I was been flippant about the weekends but unless on operations (which these volunteers obviously aren't) they do have Weekends off as a general rule.

MarthaArthur Me.
I would rather have sucked shit through a sock than done security at the olympics.
It was fucking horrible.

reading thanks for clarifying i was a bit confused

mybread oh god i heard from my friends who did it and they loathed it some had just got back from deployment and told to cancel their holidays to do it.

It's tradition, they go every year. The military staff that do it (Army, Navy and Air Force) voluntarily use their leave to cover it.

There's nothing remotely sinister or improper about it.

Martha honestly it was like it had been organised by a group of monkeys that had been on the piss for a week Showers running brown, no kit security so loads of people had hundreds of pounds worth of their stuff robbed.

I had to cancel my leave - which then got postponed even further as I went from the Olympics straight to a 6 week training exercise where it rained....and rained....and rained. What a wonderful summer that was

@mpsw they are not ordered!!!!! It's voluntary and they always have far more volunteers than slots ffs

Jeeze it sounds horrendous but about 5 of my friends said the same thing. A couple lost thousands of pounds for holidays they had book for straight after deployment and they never got their money back.

@Limpopobongo
Why don't you write to the Ministry of Defence and the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (to give their correct title) and ask for an explanation/complain? You can come back and update us.