Paul de Zulueta and Simon Doughty

The story of the British Army's Household Division from 1969 to 2023 is one of three generations of soldiers who have served Crown and Country during a period of significant social and geostrategic change.

The Guards established an ascendancy in the Peninsular War and at the Battle of Waterloo, and have never truly faltered since. Over the last 50 years, the Household Division has been at the centre of almost every major operation conducted by the British Army: Northern Ireland, the Falklands, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, the Household Division is a national institution, admired by the public through its mastery of ceremonial and pageantry, and the magnificent hour that is Trooping the Colour.

Those Must Be The Guards illustrates both roles through the experiences of those who have served in the Household Division over the past half-century.