Royal Scots Dragoons

Amy and I went with a piper friend of ours to Lawrence to see a concert of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. They are Scotlands senior military regiment and only cavalry outfit. Today they don't ride horses but Challenger tanks. The pipes and drums of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards trace back to around 1946. King George VI granted them the privilege of wearing the Royal Stuart Tartan. While they are a top notch pipe band, they are also a highly trained tank brigade.

They performed with the Band of the Coldstream Guards. The Coldstream Guards were formed in 1650 as part of Oliver Cromwell's "new model army". They may be the oldest regiments in the world. The regiment always had drummers and a band of music from about 1742. First they were civilians but they proved to be less than dependable and so the Duke of York appointed a regular attested band. At the concert a section of the Coldstream unit dressed and played in the style and dress of the late 1700's. They even used period instruments! They are now the oldest continuously playing military band in the world. They played and drilled wonderfully.

Together they put on quite a show and were well worth the trip!