Dozens of patriotic onlookers gathered to welcome soldiers from the 5^th Regiment Royal Artillery as they paraded through Skipton to exercise their Freedom of the district.

Troops from the ‘Yorkshire Gunners’ were clapped and cheered as they marched around Skipton’s High Street. During the parade, the brave servicemen and women were joined by members of the Skipton Branch of the Royal British Legion.

In 2019 Craven district councillors approved proposals to grant Freedom of the District to the 5^th Regiment Royal Artillery. The Yorkshire Gunners have been based in North Yorkshire since the mid-1990s and recruit almost 80% of its soldiers from Yorkshire.

After the parade, a civic service was held outside Skipton Town Hall attended by church leaders, civic dignitaries and special guests as the Freedom scroll was presented to Lieutenant Colonel Dan Herberts, Commanding Officer of the Regiment.

Welcoming the troops, Chairman of Craven District Council, Cllr Simon Myers, said the parade offered a “unique” opportunity to say thank you to the Service personnel. In addressing the crowd and parade, he said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome the ‘Yorkshire Gunners’ to Skipton. They recruit 80% of their soldiers from Yorkshire – they  truly are a Yorkshire regiment. We recognise their contribution to keeping the peace and to guaranteeing democracy in our country. It is a great honour as chair on behalf of the citizens of Craven to present the Freedom of Craven. In times of crisis, the brave soldiers have always stepped in – be it during the foot-and-mouth epidemic, the Covid pandemic or for all the charitable activities they take part in  - they have always supported the people of Yorkshire, particularly North Yorkshire. This is a fitting honour and in recognition of their distinguished service to our citizens, I present the Freedom of Craven to Lieutenant Colonel Dan Herberts.”

The Reverent Canon Dr James Theodosius, the Rector of Holy Trinity Church, Skipton, added “It’s really good for me as Rector of Holy Trinity to be able to welcome the 5^th Regiment Royal Artillery. This parade of Freedom, is, I feel a symbol of our unity of coming together. It’s a parade of Freedom which symbolises our shared humanity and Skipton has a proud history of that and a proud history of supporting His Majesty’s Forces in North Yorkshire. In Skipton we have a real pride in our identity here. We have the church, Skipton Castle and its rich history. We have a history of great industry coinciding with wonderful agricultural farming skills with a gateway to the Dales. We stand on the edge of the diverse and wonderful urban areas of Bradford and Leeds and we sit right between east and west. We are a symbol of unity and to be able to offer the Freedom of this district to the 5^th Regiment Royal Artillery is such a wonderful thing.”

After the poignant service, special guests were invited to a reception inside Skipton Town Hall.