Freedom of Stirling
The Queen has been Colonel-in-Chief of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders since 1947 when she also accepted the Freedom of Stirling on behalf of herself and the Regiment in a Ceremony on the Esplanade of Stirling Castle.
Her Majesty's close ties with the Regiment are reflected in the number of visits that she has undertaken to Stirling - in 1954 to mark the Centenary of the Battle of Balaklava, the Presentation of Colours to the 7th and 8th Battalions at Stirling Castle in 1961, a visit to Bannockburn when the 7th Battalion provided the Guard of Honour, the formation of the Balaklava Company in 1971, a visit to the Regimental Museum in 1972, the Silver Jubilee visit to Stirling in 1977, the presentation of Colours to the Territorial Battalion in the Castle in 1986, a visit to the new regimental museum in Stirling Castle in 1989, and a Beating of Retreat and dinner in the castle in 1997.
The Regimental recruiting area for the Argylls includes Stirling and its surrounding area; and all Argyll recruits were trained at the Regimental Depot at Stirling Castle until its transfer in 1964.
The regimental headquarters remain at the castle however, along with the regimental museum. which is visited by hundreds of thousands of people from throughout the world every year.
Its wonderful artefacts, ranging from the magnificent regimental silverware to flasks bearing bullet-holes, from medals for heroism to poignant letters home, bear eloquent testimony to the Argylls' glorious history, and show why the regiment evokes such pride in the town.
