Members of the public are invited to show their support for the Royal Air Force when Royal Air Force personnel based at RAF Shawbury will parade through the town centre this weekend exercising the Freedom of Shrewsbury first granted on 28th March 1968.
The Mayor of Shrewsbury, Councillor Peter Nutting, will welcome the staff from RAF Shawbury on Sunday [SEPT 2] at Shrewsbury Castle before the parade starts at 9.25am and makes its way through the town towards St Chad’s Church, where a service will be held at 10.00am.
Led by the Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment, the parade will march via Castle Street, Pride Hill, Shoplatch, St John’s Hill and St Chad’s Terrace.
A series of rolling road closures will be in place from 9.15am until 10.00am to allow the parade to proceed safely. There may be some minor delays to traffic that day.
The Mayor of Shrewsbury, Councillor Peter Nutting, said: “It will be a great honour to receive the Royal Air Force personnel at the Castle before they march through the town. I am proud to help celebrate the centenary of the RAF as well as the base at Shawbury.”
Station Commander at RAF Shawbury, Group Captain Chuck Norris said: “RAF Shawbury has a rich history spanning over 100 years within the county of Shropshire. Shrewsbury honoured us by granting us the freedom to the town way back in 1968 and we are thrilled to be able to say thank you for their continued support from everyone based at RAF Shawbury.
I hope as many people as possible manage to watch this parade which will be a great spectacle with over 100 personnel marching through the town behind the Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment. In this 100th year of the Royal Air Force it is our way of celebrating, commemorating and hopefully inspiring pride in the Service and our County Town.”
RAF Shawbury’s association with the county started in June 1917 when flying training first commenced. Despite a break from 1920 until 1938, the unit has played a vital role in the training of our Pilots, Rearcrew, Air Operations and Air Traffic Control personnel since then.
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