Abstract
When the time comes, it takes less than ten seconds to turn from a civilian into a soldier. The officers supervising the transformation make it perfectly clear that this is the most significant moment in the whole proceedings. First, however, there’s the ritual of attestation. Dennis, a tall young man wearing a sweatshirt, jeans and trainers, steps forward, raises his right hand and begins: I … solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors and that I will as in duty bound honestly and faithfully defend Her Majesty, her heirs and successors in person, crown and dignity against all enemies and will observe and obey all orders of Her Majesty, her heirs and successors and of the generals and officers set over me. As he sits down, his three companions, Ben, Carlos and Albert rise to take their turn. They too are casually dressed, and in their left hands they each hold a compact copy of the Bible. With their right hands raised they recite the Oath of Allegiance in unison, inserting their own names hesitantly as they read from the poster on the wall in front of them: ‘I… swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, …’KeywordsArmed ForceEast India CompanyMilitary CultureCommonwealth CountryBritish CitizenThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Published Version
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