Thousands turn out for soldier parade

In excess of 3,000 people have turned out to show their support for the Armed Forces at a troop parade.

Crowds lined the streets of Wareham to pay homage to 200 Royal Armoured soldiers from Bovington and Lulworth Camp, the Daily Echo reports.

Purbeck District Council chairman councillor Eric Osmond then bestowed upon the Armour Centre the Freedom of Purbeck.

Members of the Old Boys Association also took part in the ceremony, which included armoured fighting vehicles such as the Viking and the Panther.

Afghanistan veteran sergeant Simon Broughton of the Light Dragoons commented: "Normally the public can’t get that close to us unless they work on camp, so this puts a nice public face onto what we actually do."

Lisa Flanagan, girlfriend of Corporal Paul Mather, recently expressed how proud she was to see her boyfriend be presented with the Military Cross after he had led soldiers in Afghanistan despite receiving injuries because of shrapnel and debris.

Posted by Trevor Smith