Scarborough Armed Forces Day June 25, 2011

The final programme of events to mark Armed Forces Day in Scarborough on Saturday has been announced, with organisers expecting well over 10,000 people on the Foreshore.
This year’s event is being hosted and organised by Scarborough Borough Council, in partnership with the Heroes Welcome initiative, South Bay Traders Association, Royal British Legion, SSAFA Forces Help and the RNLI, with financial support from local businessman Don Robinson’s Winston Churchill’s Britain at War Experience in London, the Ministry of Defence and the borough council.
Armed Forces Day activities will start at noon on Foreshore Road with a speech by the Mayor, Cllr John Blackburn, followed by a march by the Yorkshire Volunteers Band to the balconies at the foot of St Nicholas Gardens in Foreshore Road.
In what is likely to be a moving part of the day, six veterans’ badges will be awarded before a presentation is given by the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) Forces Help to a school involved in its Camo Day event.
The Yorkshire Volunteers Band will then strike up with more music ahead of what is likely to be a mesmerising 15-minute display by The Blades aeronautical team at 12.30pm. The four pilots will loop and roll in tight formation, and perform opposition crosses at closing speeds in excess of 400mph.
At 12.45pm the Yorkshire Volunteers Band will perform and march off back towards the West Pier.
A Joint 30-minute exercise between HMS Explorer, Scarborough RNLI and Sea King Helicopter is due to start at 1pm in the South Bay before the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band marches to St Nicholas Gardens and performs ahead of the 15-minute Lancaster Bomber display, due to start at 2.10pm. The Lancaster – PA474 – is one of only two remaining in airworthy condition out of the 7,377 that were built, the other being in Canada.
At 2.25pm, the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band performs at St Nicholas Gardens before it heads off to the Spa. At the same time, the Yorkshire Volunteers Band will strike up at Sandside before it moves to West Pier to perform at 3.15pm. It will then march to St Nicholas Gardens and take up a position on the balcony and will perform until the parade of veterans – which is setting off from the Spa at 4pm – reaches Aquarium Top.
Joining the veterans and standards are the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band, service personnel from 2 Signal Regiment, Sea, Air and Army Cadets, youngsters from the Scouts and Guides associations and up to 20 motorbike riders from The Royal British Legion. The parade will come to a halt in front of the St Nicholas Gardens balconies before a review of the parade is carried out by the Mayor and Major General Michael Charlton-Weedy CBE.
At 4.15pm an Armed Forces Day flag is due to be presented to Colour Sergeant David Lightfoot who will take it to Afghanistan on his next tour. There will also be presentations to Scarborough’s adopted ship, HMS Explorer, and an Armed Forces Day flag will be given to veteran, George Southern BEM.
At 4.40pm a service of thanksgiving will take place at St Nicholas Gardens led by the Rev Martyn Dunning, the vicar of Scarborough which includes The Epitaph, “The Last Post” played by a lone bugler, one minute’s silence and “Reveille” again sounded by the bugler.
Scarborough Town Crier, Honorary Freeman Alan Booth MBE will then give “three cheers” to the Armed Forces before the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band leads the parade off. The Yorkshire Volunteers Band will play out the event at 4.55pm before Armed Forces Day events on the Foreshore draw to a close.
Meanwhile, a number of other events to mark Armed Forces Day will continue over the course of the weekend.
As part of an event called War Torn, the Scarborough War Games Club will be co-ordintating 10 battles which were fought during the Peninsular War of the early 1800s, in a single game at Scarborough’s Spa Complex, which could see as many as 40,000 miniature figures in play at any one time – a new record for war gaming says the club. People are welcome to go along to the Spa to learn more about war-gaming, take part in some of the games and watch the world record attempt unfold.
At 7.30pm during the evening of Armed Forces Day, Scarborough Dance Centre will stage the second of three military-themed variety shows at the YMCA Theatre in St Thomas Street in support of our Armed Forces, with a Sunday matinee performance due to start at 2pm.
The weekend will draw to a close with a Sunday concert by the Scarborough Spa Orchestra to celebrate the Royal British Legion’s 90th year in the spectacular newly refurbished Spa Grand Hall complete with Standard Bearers and poignant red poppy drop.