BAYONETS were fixed, drums were beaten and colours were flown for the Cheshire Yeomanry Freedom of the city parade.

Cheshire’s historic Army Reserve cavalry unit, C (Cheshire Yeomanry) Squadron of the Queen’s Own Yeomanry, exercised their Freedom of Chester by marching in a parade from Chester Castle to the Town Hall on Saturday (October 12).

This year is the 225th anniversary of the wider Yeomanry and the 80th anniversary of the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) which they form the reserve component of.

The Cheshire Yeomanry were awarded the Freedom of the City in 1996 and last exercised it in their bi-centenary in 1997.

The Freedom they are exercising is a ceremonial award from the city made in 1997 that permits a military unit to move through the city with weapons drawn.