Page 34 - Mercian Eagle 2012

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Keeping The Battalion in the Public Eye Freedom Parades 2012.
WO2 (CSM) BEN COX B (CHAMPION COY) 2 MERCIAN.
B (Champion) Company was the
last Company to return from Afghanistan (Op Herrick 15) at the end of April 2012, after which it was only right and proper for the Battalion to once again renew its links with the communities that had so humbly and generously supported us all throughout the seven months of the tour. In keeping with the traditions of our forebears, we set about a programme of marches through the towns and cities of our home counties with high expectations that many would come and welcome us home.
culminated with the CO, RSM and B (Champion) Company being hosted by the Diglis Hotel and their manager Mr Steven Pirone – whose wife had recently served as a NAAFI manager in Camp Bastion, the main British support base in Afghanistan.
Although the parades drew on much
of our effort and attracted considerable publicity, this was not all that we accomplished. I had also helped to establish the inaugural ‘Mercian 12’ fundraising event at the National Arboretum, a 12 mile run with all proceeds from entry split between our hosts and the Mercian Benevolence Fund.
It was a particularly befitting and poignant location – focussing our minds on raising funds that would assist some of those wounded from this most recent tour, and those wounded from across the Regiment on previous tours. We were fortunate that it also
Unfortunately, due to the financial constraints that effect so much of what we do these days, we were unable to march
in all the places that we would have liked. Thus a number of prime locations were selected – (in order of marches) Holywood (Northern Ireland), followed by the 2nd Battalion’s aligned cities
of Nottingham, Derby
and finally Worcester.
Particularly noteworthy
was our first parade
through Holywood (near
Belfast) which is the
closest town to Palace
Barracks. This was our
first ever parade through
the town in the five years
that we have been based
in Northern Ireland. The
townspeople, (used
to a parade or two) turned out in droves to support us and the civic dignitaries were clearly grateful that we were acknowledging the town’s gestures of goodwill and support. With the battalion’s soldiers more used to patrolling than marching, the Holywood Parade also gave us a chance to once again get accustomed to drill.
On 24th June the battalion moved to Swinnerton Camp, Staffordshire – the heart of the Mercian recruiting area, in anticipation of our first parade in Nottingham on the 25th. Soon followed a busy series of well rehearsed activities – march, host our families and guests, as well as gratefully accepting the hospitality from the Cities of Nottingham, Derby and Worcester. With excellent turnouts in Nottingham and Derby and a few beverages along the way, the culmination of our efforts would be the parade through Worcester which was to also coincide with National Armed Forces Day. The Battalion took its place amongst the other units across the Army who also have the Freedom of the City bestowed upon them. The crowds who subsequently lined the routes were truly overwhelming
in numbers and were the largest and, arguably, the most vocal crowds any of us could ever remember. The day’s activities
coincided with the arrival of the Olympic torch, carried by LCpl Johnson Beharry VC – himself wounded in action,
and B (Champion) Company were asked to line the route. Just the previous day, A (Grenadier) and D (Fire Support) Company had also had the privilege of lining the route for the Olympic torch in Derby.
As such, the Regiment and the Mercian 12 event benefitted from some widespread national press coverage. Amazingly, despite the copious deluges of rain over the summer submerging much of the 12-mile route, the race was won in an astounding time of 1hr 15 mins by Captain Alex Garrard – not bad considering the Battalion were fresh off four weeks of Post Operational Tour Leave, and a week of hospitality gratefully received from the home counties!
Undeniably the Freedom Parades were both rewarding and worthwhile in that we were able in some small way to say thank you those who had bought wrist bands, donated money or kept us supplied with shoe boxes filled with basic toiletries on
the tour. As a Regiment with close ties to
the communities which we recruit from,
they remain pivotal to our identity that we continue to endeavour to both maintain but also forge new links within our home-base. We would like to thank everyone who helped to make these events such a success, in particular Capt J Pickering and Ms C Baines. We would also like to thank the thousands of people who took time out of their day to stop and acknowledge our soldiers’ deeds, those who were sadly killed and those who have sustained life-changing injuries.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
This was our first ever parade through the town in the 5 years that we have been based in northern ireland.