100 Days Until National Armed Forces Day in Scarborough

A special event at Scarborough castle marked the occasion with a visit from a Merlin helicopter.

The event is taking place on Saturday June 25th 2022 after having been postponed twice due to the COVID restrictions.

The town had been set to host the national ceremony, which attracts more than 200,000 people and figures including the Prime Minister, in 2020 but that was also moved to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was then postponed again due to further lockdown restrictions last year.

As the hosts of the Armed Forces Day 2022 national event, Scarborough will welcome hundreds of Armed Forces personnel in a spectacular parade along the seafront on 25 June.

Military personnel from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force will join the people of Scarborough to celebrate the unique contribution Armed Forces personnel make to our security and way of life.

They will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with veterans, cadets and Armed Forces families in a nationwide show of support for the entire Armed Forces community. Thousands of members of the public will join the celebrations and witness military displays, tour military equipment and meet Armed Forces personnel.

Today's launch event marked the start of the countdown to Armed Forced Day.

Commodore Phil Waterhouse is the Joint Military commander for Armed Forces day, he says the three year delay has given the organisers a unique opportunity to shape the event.

Borough Mayor, Councillor Eric Broadbent says the event will offer something for everyone in the borough.

It's expected that the event in June will see tanks, aircraft and ships come to the town.

Today's launch event offered a small taste of what is in store as a Royal Navy Merlin helicopter from 814 Naval Air Squadron flew over Scarborough Castle, and a Royal Marines team abseiled down the castle’s keep, unfurling the Armed Forces Day flag. Four buglers from the Royal Marines Corps of Drums performed a fanfare at the ceremony. The Armed Forces Day flag was raised atop Scarborough Castle to begin the countdown to Armed Forces Day 2022.

Mayor Broadbent was impressed by the helicopter display and is lookign forward to seeing more military equipment over the Armed forces Day weekend.

The planning for the event is being lead by the Navy and the Borough Council, Commodore Phil Waterhouse told Paddy more about the planning for the June event.

Funding for the National Armed Forces day event is coming from a number of sponsors. Tesco is the event's Platinum Sponsor. Marcus Denison is Director Sponsor of the Armed Forces at Tesco, he says it's great to be involved in the event.

The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) join as gold sponsor. Silver sponsors are Babcock, Balfour Beatty, BAE Systems, McCain Foods, REFA (The Forces Employment Charity), Royal British Legion and Taylor Wimpey.

Councillor Eric Broadbent, Mayor of the borough of Scarborough, added:

"The people of our borough are proud supporters of the Armed Forces so it is with great excitement that we prepare to host the prestigious Armed Forces Day national event in Scarborough this year.

"It will be a great honour for us show our appreciation for their outstanding service by welcoming serving personnel, veterans, military charities, special guests and visitors to the town for what promises to be a very special celebration.

"Working with the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and our partners and sponsors, we are pulling out all the stops to make the 2022 national event truly spectacular."

Defence Minister Leo Docherty MP said:

"Armed Forces Day is back and Scarborough is getting ready to host a spectacular celebration. With just 100 days to go until the big day, there’s no better time to plan an Armed Forces Day event in your community. On Armed Forces Day the whole country will come together to thank the entire Armed Forces community for everything they do to keep us safe."