Armed Forces Day event to be hosted at Victoria Park in St. Helens

St Helens Borough Council will pay tribute to the local Armed Forces community this June at a special event in Victoria Park.

Members of the public, community groups and families are invited to come along to the borough’s green flag award-winning park in Windle for St Helens Armed Forces Day – a popular annual attraction, with this year’s event forming part of Borough of Culture celebrations.

The day will get underway with a parade made up of veterans, serving members of the armed forces and cadets – before a packed programme of entertainment gets underway, featuring a 69-field gun WWII artillery display and performances from 103 Regiment Lancashire Artillery Pipe and Drum and the North West Royal Marines Association Corps of Drums.

Other attractions on the day will include current and vintage military vehicles; stalls; children’s funfair; classic cars, as well as variety of performers at the bandstand, such as ‘The Golden Age Songbird’.

6,036 households, in the borough, have at least one person who has served in the UK armed forces, working out at 7.5 per cent of all households which is above the England and Wales average.

Mayor of St Helens Borough, Councillor Lynn Clarke – who is also the council’s Armed Forces Champion – said:

“Armed Forces Day is one of the biggest and best events on our calendar as we show our appreciation to those who have given their all for our freedom and safety – and salute the fantastic local organisations that provide vital support for veterans and their families.

“As a council we are committed to supporting and honouring our Armed Forces personnel, past and present, which is evident through a number of initiatives, including our annual Armed Forces Day event – which always proves to be a crowd-pleaser; Remembrance Sunday services – and recently awarding Freedom of the Borough to The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the Army division for St Helens Borough.”

Councillor Clarke added:

“It’s a great honour to serve as Mayor of St Helens Borough this year while carrying out my duties as Armed Forces Champion, which is why I have introduced the role of ‘Mayor’s Cadet’ which will see two local young people attending a cadet programme accompany me to related events – such as Armed Forces Day – which is sure to be a fantastic occasion as we salute our local heroes while celebrating the very best of St Helens during our year as Borough of Culture.”

The Armed Forces Day will take place in Victoria Park between 11:00am-4:00pm on Saturday 17 June.