The Ayrshire Yeomanry, a historic regiment, commemorated its 225th anniversary with a Freedom Parade through Ayr on Saturday 24th June 2023. 

 

The parade was led by Officer Commanding Ayrshire Squadron, Major Jonathan Townrow, and Sheriff Iona McDonald OBE, the Lord-Lieutenant of Ayrshire and Arran, and following a wreath laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in Wellington Square the parade marched through the town with a March Past and Salute at the Wallace Tower.

 

 The Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry was formed as an independent troop by The Earl of Cassillis sometime around 1794. It was formally adopted into the Army List in 1798 as The Ayrshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry. The Yeomanry were established and recruited at this time to provide Britain with a defence against any invasion by French forces under Napoleon. The regiment spent its formative years as an aid to the civil powers, reacting to and controlling riots across Ayrshire and beyond, most notably in Paisley. In 1897, the regiment was granted permission to use the title Ayrshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Earl of Carrick's Own deriving from the Ayrshire district of Carrick.