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22
May 2023
Last Updated: 22/05/2023
Freedom march caps a day of civic celebrations in Ripon
It was a day of tradition, ceremony and civic pride in Ripon, with the Royal Engineers' freedom march and the installation at the cathedral of councillor Sid Hawke as city mayor.
Among those in attendance for both of yesterday's events was Major-General Eldon Millar who, as Defence Services Secretary, played a key role in the organisation and delivery of this month's coronation celebrations for King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Involving more than 6,000 armed forces members, it was the UK's largest military ceremonial operation in 70 years.
Major-General Eldon Millar, Defence Services Secretary, in Ripon yesterday
Although the freedom march was on a much smaller scale, hundreds of soldiers from 21 Engineer Regiment accompanied by the British Army Band from Catterick ensured a spectacular display as they marched to the beat of a drum with bayonets fixed.
The regiment was awarded Freedom of the City status in 1949 and Major-General Millar, who earlier in his army career served as adjutant at Claro Barracks, said:
"I'm delighted to be back in Ripon to share in this wonderful and significant tradition."
The Royal Engineers and musicians marched to the cathedral for the sung Eucharist service, which included the installation of Cllr Hawke as mayor.
The mayor and mayoress on their way to the cathedral with sergeant at mace David Coates and hornblower Allison Clark.
The service, led by the Dean of Ripon the Very Revd. John Dobson, was also attended by members of Ripon City Council (pictured below) and other invited civic dignitaries.
On Saturday, the Royal Engineers staged a display on Market Square designed to give members of the public a close-up view of equipment, engineering techniques and construction skills, including bridge building, bricklaying, concreting and plumbing, employed by the regiment, at many different locations.
In recent years, 21 Engineer Regiment’s main focus has been on providing support to UN peacekeeping operations and has included deployments to Afghanistan, Cyprus, Poland, Somalia and South Sudan.
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