Not the inked variety but an annual display of the cadets’ training and skills that Portsmouth RMVCC used to put on each summer from at least the 1960s through to 1987. The later events took place over three days in July but further back the Tattoos were held at Fratton Park.

The Tattoos would feature guest artistes but it was the cadets who were the stars of the show. Whether it was a PT display, a Field Gun competition (including walls and the chasm) or a Drill Display, the audience were kept more than entertained for well over two hours.  Click here to see black and white video footage of the 1961 RMVBC Tattoo at Fratton Park.

Did you know we used to have a Mounted Troop?  Well, this video footage goes to show that our cadets can turn their hand to anything.  And the Troop was still going strong in 1983.Each Tattoo would finish with a Beating Retreat, Sunset and cast assembly, with the cadets marching off into the dark to a thoroughly deserved round of applause.