Royal Scots Greys | Scotland

This postcard shows a Pipe Major of the Royal Scots Greys. The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) to form The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys). The regiment's history began in 1678, when three independent troops of Scots Dragoons were raised. In 1681, these troops were regimented to form The Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons, numbered the 4th Dragoons in 1694. They were already mounted on grey horses by this stage and were already being referred to as the Grey Dragoons. In 1707, they were renamed The Royal North British Dragoons (North Britain then being the envisaged common name for Scotland), but were already being referred to as the Scots Greys. In 1713, they were renumbered the 2nd Dragoons as part of a deal between the commands of the English Army and the Scottish Army when the two were in the process of being unified into the British Army. They were also sometimes referred to, during the first Jacobite uprising, as Portmore's Dragoons. In 1877, their nickname was finally made official when they became the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys), which was inverted in 1921 to The Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons). They kept this title until 2 July 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers, forming the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. [wikipedia]

In the back it reads: 'I hope you are keeping fit. I expect you know quite a lot about Wednesday's event. There were at least 14 scouts on the plane, so we went. First we flew to Prestwick where we developed an engine fault we eventually caught a releaving plane at 1.15am and travelled first class but had to go to Montreal as there was fog at Toronto. However we reached Toronto about Midday. The other day we went to the Niagara Falls, a truly awe-inspiring scene. About half a million gallons fall a second. We have come back to Montreal now. The food here very differently arranged to ours! With Love, Keith Holmes'

The postcard was has two stamps. One from Quebeq in 1966 and one from Montreal in 1967.