Tanks for the memories as Royal Scots Dragoon Guards come home

Published on Saturday 4 July 2009 19:54

SCOTLAND'S only tank regiment went on parade yesterday to thank the public for their support while they were serving in the Middle East.

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards took one of their 62-tonne Challenger 2 battle tanks down Edinburgh's historic Royal Mile for the first time.

Commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Biggart said: "We are enormously proud and privileged to have the honour to march through our capital city.

"It follows a very successful week guarding Her Majesty the Queen at Holyrood.

"It is as much about thanking the people of Edinburgh and Scotland for their support during our Iraq and Afghanistan tours in 2008, as it is about coming back home from Germany."

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards are normally based in Fallingbostel, Germany, and are in Scotland this summer to exercise their freedom of several Scottish cities, including Perth on Tuesday and Glasgow on Friday.

The regiment was formed in Edinburgh in 1971 from the amalgamation of the Royal Scots Greys and the 3rd Carabiniers.

Its headquarters and museum are still in Edinburgh Castle.