Cheers and applause as port says farewell to regiment

Carrying fixed bayonets, more than 100 soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment, marched through the town to a roaring send-off. Among the crowds were 600 schoolchildren who eagerly waved their flags.

The farewell parade, ahead of the troops’ deployment to Cyprus and then Afghanistan, ended at Pannett Park, where a service and civic reception took place.

Whitby’s Mayor John Freeman, said: “The whole thing has gone off like a dream – it’s been wonderful. The support shown by the town has been overwhelming. It was a superb day for Whitby and the regiment.”

Whitby’s fallen soldiers were also remembered, including Craftsmen Andrew Found of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers serving with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. The married father of two died in an explosion in the Gereshk Valley area in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province on June 16, when he went to the aid of another vehicle which had been hit by a blast.

Tributes were also paid to 25-year-old father of one Cpl Damian Lawrence, of the 2nd Battalion (Green Howards), who died in 2008 while on night patrol in Helmand Province.