Thread: Royal Anglian homecoming parade

I took this from our local paper about the Royal Anglian freedom march:

quote A rallying cry has gone out to members of the public to welcome home Royal Anglian troops from their gruelling tour of Afghanistan.

Troops from the regiment's 1st battalion will exercise the Freedom of the City by marching through Norwich on November 22 in what will be a poignant homecoming parade.

The battalion - nicknamed The Vikings - had nine soldiers killed and scores injured during the fighting.

The Duke of Gloucester, who is Colonel in Chief of the regiment, will be among those in attendance for the march, which will welcome soldiers back from their tour of Helmand Province and recognise the regiment's links with Norwich and the region.

The Royal Anglians will march with the regiment band, colours flying and bayonets fixed from City Hall, watched by The Duke, the Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk Richard Jewson, Lieutenant General John McColl, and the Lord Mayor of Norwich Cllr Roy Blower.

Members of the public are being urged to turnout in force for the event and gather outside City Hall for the parade which begins at 2.20pm. It will follow a route along Gaol Hill, London Street, Queen Street, Tombland and The Close.

A service of thanksgiving and remembrance will follow at Norwich Cathedral at 3.30pm and the Lord Mayor will host a private reception at Blackfriars Hall.

Colonel Tony Taylor, based at the TA Centre in Aylsham Road, said: “We want to make sure we reinforce our links with our region because Norfolk and Suffolk is where we recruit from. It will be great for the soldiers' morale if people turn out to show their support and it will be a finale for the tour.”

The Freedom of the City was bestowed on the regiment in 1984. quote

It should be the city council broadcasting this and making it an event. I hope this gets more publicity.

Hopefully they'll exercise their right to "Drums beating" - Corps of Drums is the soul of the battalion, and the Vikings usually have a top-notch Corps.

Hope this topic gets bumped (along with info on Bury St Edmunds on the 23rd) - that way the word will be going out to "Vikings, Vikings, Everywhere".

It got a good mention on the local news this morning.

Originally Posted by supermark500

It got a good mention on the local news this morning.

And on the Victoria Derbyshire show after 10 am on Radio Five Live.

There was a wide ranging discussion, mostly on-side, in which I took part.

Have a great day Vikings. Norwich 22 Nov, Bury St Edmunds 23 Nov.

D.Y. (BAFF)

News24 have just done a piece from Pirbright, waiting to welcome more Vikings home - if it was on there it should make the 6 o clock news

I do hope their wives and girlfriends have had a good look at the carpet recently...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7046599.stm

Including very touching video.

Troops return from toughest tour

A memorial fund has been set up to help Royal Anglian soldiers


Welcomed home
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment have returned to the UK after being involved in some of the fiercest fighting in Afghanistan.
Military commentators have said it was one of the toughest tours of duty in the regiment's 43-year history.

Nine members of the regiment, nicknamed the Vikings, died during the six month tour in Helmand province.

Lt Col Stuart Carver said: "There will not be a town in East Anglia that does not know someone who has been injured."

The regiment, currently based in Pirbright, Surrey, recruits from Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire.

Awareness of what's going on out there, the ferocity of the fighting, is limited amongst the general public

Lt Bjorn Rose

Joseph Tanner-Tremaine, a member of the regiment, told BBC News: "It feels great to be back here now, I'm really relieved but being out there is just my job, it's what I get paid for.

"It has been hard sometimes, you keep on hearing bullets pass over your head and you're not sure if that's going to be it, but at the end of the day, you get back into your base or camp and you're just happy to be back."

The soldiers were welcomed home at the barracks in Surrey by family and friends as well as Defence Minister Derek Twigg.

The regiment's Lt Bjorn Rose said the public were not aware how fierce the fighting was.

"General awareness of what's going on out there, the ferocity of the fighting, what they're going through day to day is limited amongst the general public and that is an issue.

"However, I think through publicity that the campaign's now getting I think awareness is increasing so I think it's a lot better for them".

Life and limb

In a recent letter to the Eastern Daily Press, Col Carver said troops had been involved in some of the most ferocious close-quarter combat the British Army has ever seen.

He said the 600 men and women of the battalion represented the "best of East Anglia", and they had risked life and limb to make Afghanistan a safer place and win the trust of the local population.

Fifty-seven soldiers from the regiment have also been wounded in battle.

A memorial fund has been established to provide assistance to Royal Anglian soldiers who have been seriously wounded and help to the families of those killed.

I read this morning that Tony Hadley (of Spandau Ballet fame/infamy) was at Pirbright handing out beer to all the blokes as he now runs his own little micro brewery.
Well done Tony, pure 'GOLD'.
Ok, I'll get my coat for the last bit!

Slightly off thread.

I saw the TV programmes both national & local. I was stationed at Pirbright in 1971. It looked as if it hadn't had an upgrade since then No wonder the stink about the accn there.
Welcome home them though.

Apparently Derek Twigg (Veterans Minister) was at Pirbright to welcome the Vikings home. I do hope they impressed upon him the importance of looking after all the wounded, and the families of those who did not return.

Any details yet on the Bury St Edmunds parade ?

Originally Posted by whiffler

Any details yet on the Bury St Edmunds parade ?

At the moment it looks like the Freedom March in Bury will start on Angel Hill at 11.30am on Friday 23rd November. The parade then goes to Churchgate Street, Guildhall Street, Abbeygate Street and back to Angel Hill. There will also be a Thanksgiving and Remembrance Service.

I shall post when we get more information.

My parents ages 76 and 78 will be supporting the Vikings in Norwich City centre on 22nd November.

Well done the Vikings.

And well done the BBC(for a change)