Troops parade through Tewkesbury

30th May 2012, 17:27

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The Gloucestershire based Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) have honoured more than 160 soldiers recently returned from a 6-month deployment to Afghanistan and Cyprus with a parade and medals ceremony.

The soldiers recently served in a wide variety of roles while deployed to Afghanistan, such as providing infantry forces, searching for Improvised Explosive Devices, and partnering and mentoring the Afghan Security Forces.

The events included a regimental Medal Parade through the streets of Tewkesbury, followed by the consecration of the battalion’s Memorial Wall and the presentation of deployment medals to the unit’s personnel at Imjin Barracks in Innsworth.

During the parade, which included a 36-piece military band from the British Army’s own Parachute Regiment, a salute was taken outside Tewkesbury Abbey by the Duke of Gloucester in his role as Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Logistic Corps.

Thousands of people lined the streets along the parade’s route to cheer the soldiers on as they marched.

After the salute, a civic reception hosted by the Tewkesbury Borough Council took place in Abbey House at Tewkesbury Abbey.  This event afforded the Duke of Gloucester the opportunity to meet with the families of four soldiers who died in earlier unit deployments and missions with the battalion, as well as other local dignitaries.