More than 850 Junior Soldiers from the Army Foundation College marched through the streets of Harrogate today (Sunday, 10 May 2015) to exercise their right to the Freedom of the Borough.
The parade set off from West Park at 9.30am and finished outside the council offices in Crescent Gardens, it also marks the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day.
The paraded was led by Harrogate and Tewit Youth Bands, 450 Junior Soldiers along with a further 400 Junior Soldiers that lined up along the route and joined the parade as it passed.
The Army Foundation College’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Oz Lane, Her Majesty’s Deputy Lieutenant, Brigadier Nigel Wood, and the Mayor of the Borough of Harrogate, Councillor Jim Clark, took the salute.
VE Day commemorations take place every year on Friday 8 May and is marked with a national two-minute silence at 3pm – the time when Winston Churchill broadcast his historic speech formally announcing the end of the war.
The AFC was granted the right to exercise their Freedom of the Borough in 1972 when it was the Army Apprentice College.
The present-day college at Uniacke Barracks in Penny Pot Lane opened in 1998 and accommodates 1,344 Junior Soldiers, providing training for the Army’s many career paths.
