HUNDREDS of visitors to the Yorkshire Air Museum enjoyed a spectacular fly-past as York showed its support for Armed Forces Day.
A Spitfire and a Hurricane gave the crowds several fly-pasts over the museum at Elvington on Saturday in front of veterans and current servicemen and women.
Ian Richardson, spokesman for the attraction, said: “It was an excellent day and the organisation was very pleased with the turnout.
“There were about 70 members of the 609 Squadron and hundreds of visitors to the museum from all across the country.”
Also on Saturday, bells at York Minster rang out in celebration as part of the third annual Armed Forces Day.
And thousands of people descended on Scarborough to attend the largest Armed Forces Day in North Yorkshire where the town’s West Pier was transformed into a military base with parachute display teams and parades.
Yesterday, the Royal British Legion staged a parade through York city centre to mark the organisation’s 90th anniversary.
Veterans were joined by detachments from 2 Signal Regiment, 306 (Specialist) Field Hospital, The Intelligence Corps, and RAF personnel from Linton On Ouse as they marched from All Saints’ Church in Pavement to the Judge’s Lodgings in Lendal, led by the band of the York Air Training Corps. Ted Griffiths, president of the Royal British Legion in York, stood on the Mansion House steps alongside the civic party as the Lord Mayor, Coun David Horton took the salute.
John Lebbon, chairman of the Royal British Legion’s York branch, said: “ We received a very nice reception from the people of York who lined the route which was greatly appreciated – as is the generosity of those in York who have been digging deep in their pockets for the past 90 years for our Poppy Appeal."
Time to honour our Army heroes
YORK never forgets its army heroes. We’ve seen that in the emotional way the city has mourned the deaths of young soldiers such as Matthew Hatton, David Hart and Ashley Smith, killed on duty in Afghanistan.
They are just the latest in a long line of young soldiers, sailors and airmen from York who joined the armed forces, and paid the ultimate price for service to Queen and country.
This year the Royal British Legion celebrated its 90th anniversary.
That fact gave an added poignancy to the commemoration of Armed Forces Day at the weekend.
Veterans stood shoulder to shoulder with young men and women serving in today’s armed forces to watch a fly-past by a Hawker Hurricane and a Supermarine Spitfire at the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington on Saturday.
In York itself, the bells of York Minster rang out on both Saturday and Sunday – playing a selection of military and wartime tunes on Saturday, and a full peal of bells on Sunday.
The Lord Mayor of York took a salute outside the Mansion House, and the Archbishop of York praised the courage of those willing to put their lives on the line for their country in the name of freedom.
They are real heroes, and we owe them a massive debt of gratitude for what they do.
That debt is owed alike to the young men and women of today, but also to the older veterans who did so much to defend our way of life in the past.
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