Pride On Parade

This month The Cheshire Yeomanry will parade through Chester, 222 years after their forebears first raised a force to counter the threat of Napoleon.

- Paul Taylor

Bayonets will be fixed, drums beaten, colours flown and three sleek cavalry horses will lead the way as the Cheshire Yeomanry parade through Chester on October 12.

It’s a ceremonial show of force the Yeomanry were given the right to exercise when they were granted the Freedom of Chester in 1996. But it is 22 years since they last treated the city to this spectacle.

Despite the noble steeds leading the parade, this cavalry unit has not gone to war on horseback since the Second World War. But it does still hold the distinction of being the last British regiment ever to do so - in the difficult terrain of the Middle East.

The transport of choice these days is the Jackal light armoured vehicle, which will be bringing up the rear of the parade. Though the name, Cheshire Yeomanry, seems arcane and old-fashioned, these reservists couldn’t be more relevant in 2019, plugging the gaps at a time when the regular armed forces are spread thin and suffering their share of cuts.

‘The reserves are playing a more important role now in the British Army to meet all the commitments we are tasked with in times of economic challenge and lots of demands on government finance,’ says Major Stephen Davies, officer in command of the Cheshire Yeomanry.

In the last 15 years, 60 members of Cheshire Yeomanry have served alongside regular Army forces in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Cyprus and Poland. Their skills and training are in reconnaissance: stealthy intelligence-gathering and communications.