Royal salute marks birthday and retirement

Major Chad Fowler, 64, who has organised fifty Royal Salutes in the city as well as a host of other ceremonial events, was the inspecting officer when the artillery fired on the stroke of noon. York is one of 12 saluting stations in Britain and is the only one in the North of England.

Major Fowler is retiring as the Second-in-Command at York Garrison and has served 45 years in the Army starting his Army career with a medical in Imphal Barracks in 1969. “I have organised 50 Royal Salutes over the years and I feel privileged to be the inspecting officer at my 51st and last,” he said.

A former pupil of Crossley and Porter School in Halifax, Major Fowler was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1970. He has served in places including Northern Ireland, Germany and Norway.