The Prime Minister has led tributes to Britain’s military as the UK celebrates Armed Forces Day and the “contribution made by those who serve their country”.
More than 300 events took place across the UK on Saturday, with Salisbury – the location of last year’s Novichok nerve agent attack – hosting the national ceremony.
Royal Navy personnel marching through Salisbury city centre (Corporal Ben Beale/Crown Copyright)
Armed Forces Day, an annual showcase, gives people the chance to show their support for the men and women within the UK’s forces community.
In a video shared on social media, Theresa May said: “Thank you to all of you who choose to serve your country whether Royal Navy, Army or Royal Air Force, full-time or reserve, the longest-serving veteran or the newest recruits.
RAF personnel parade through Salisbury to mark Armed Forces Day (Corporal Ben Beale/Crown Copyright)
“It is also a chance to remember the wider service community, whether it is children who endure long periods apart from their mothers and fathers, or friends and families who do so much to support loved ones in uniform.
“You all play a part in making our Armed Forces the best in the world and the pride of our nation.”
Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt talking to personnel during Armed Forces Day celebrations at the Hudson’s Field in Salisbury (Corporal Robert Weideman/MoD)
In Salisbury, the Princess Royal took the salute during the parade of 1,300 personnel from across the three services, cadets and veterans, with the Kaiser Chiefs also headlining a concert.
“#ArmedForcesDay is an opportunity to celebrate the contribution made by those who serve their country. I want to say thank you to them, and parents, friends and families who play their part in making our Armed Forces the best in the world and pride of our nation” PM @Theresa_May pic.twitter.com/fvwvHK2uHg
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) June 29, 2019
The city also hosted military displays including a flypast by the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows and an aerial display by the British Army’s Parachute Regiment.
The Princess Royal during Armed Forces Day celebrations in Salisbury (Corporal Robert Weideman/MoD)
And with additional music provided by military bands including those from the Royal Marines and the Royal Air Force, Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt also attended the celebrations in Salisbury – speaking to serving troops.
Over the years The Queen, Commander-in-chief, has met many servicemen and women of all ranks, and their families, both at home and overseas.
In 2009 HM spoke about how "deeply thankful" she, and the entire nation are for those who serve in the Armed Forces. #ArmedForcesDay pic.twitter.com/wI3pIHYHsU
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 29, 2019
On social media, the Royal Family’s Twitter account noted how the Queen, commander-in-chief of Britain’s military, maintains a “close relationship” with serving members and veterans.
“In 2009 Her Majesty spoke about how ‘deeply thankful’ she, and the entire nation are for those who serve in the Armed Forces,” one of their Armed Forces Day posts stated.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel