Reversed and resting on arms is one of those drill traditions that looks simple but is loaded with meaning.
Originally, the movement of holding a weapon upside down and leaning on it is tied to the idea of “inverting” normal practice as a sign that something is wrong or out of balance – in this case, the loss of a comrade. While some historians link the symbolism loosely to ancient Greek practices of lowering or inverting weapons in mourning or defeat, the first reliably documented military examples come much later, in descriptions of sixteenth-century European military funerals. There, pikemen and musketeers are recorded as carrying their arms reversed when escorting the bodies of fallen officers and soldiers, marking the column as a funeral procession rather than a unit on parade or in battle.
Over time, this evolved into a codified drill movement in British and Commonwealth armies. “Arms reversed” and “rest on arms reversed” became formal positions used exclusively on occasions of mourning—funerals, memorial services, and national days of remembrance. The soldier is made physically less “ready”: the weapon is inverted, the stance is slightly bowed, and the overall posture is subdued. It’s a deliberate contrast to the upright, alert posture of normal drill, visually reinforcing the idea of reflection, grief, and respect.