Soldiers on parade to mark freedom honour from town

Drums were beating and bayonets were fixed on Saturday as 220 soldiers paraded through the streets of Dewsbury to celebrate 3rd Battalion The Rifles receiving the Freedom of the town honour from Kirklees Council.

The parade was led with music from The Waterloo Band of the Rifles, and consisted of a marching contingent of soldiers from 3rd Battalion The Rifles, and the 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (5RRF), as well as Army cadets and officials from the Rifles Regimental Association.

The parade began on Wakefield Old Road at 11am before turning left on to Longcauseway for a short ceremony in the Memorial Gardens before continuing onto Market Place.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Then the soldiers returned to Longcauseway and marched past a Saluting Dias outside Dewsbury Town Hall where the Lord Mayor of Kirklees, Coun Eric Firth, took the salute.

Following the parade the soldiers and their families enjoyed a civic reception lunch in the Town Hall.

The Commanding Officer of 3 RIFLES, Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Maconochie, said: “The historic links between 3rd Battalion The Rifles, and the town of Dewsbury mean a great deal to us and we are both humbled and proud to be able to mark them with a Freedom Parade.”