PHOTO: The Vice Lord Lieutenant of Devon Rear Admiral Chris Snow CBE DL, Major General Tom Bewick (as Colonel of the Regiment), The Deputy Mayor of Torbay Cllr Barbara Lewis, The High Sheriff of Devon Commodore Jake Moores OBE DL
On Saturday 27th July, The Vice Lord Lieutenant of Devon, Rear Admiral Chris Snow CBE DL, attended The Rifles Regiment Reaffirmation Ceremony of their Freedom of the Borough. In attendance was also the High Sheriff of Devon, Commodore Jake Moores OBE DL, and the Deputy Mayor of Torbay, Cllr Barbara Lewis.
The King’s Garden in Torbay was packed with current and past members of the regiment, backed by other armed forces veterans, as the reaffirmation of The Freedom of The Rifles took place. It is a huge honour for the regiment as it reflects on the deep connection to Torbay that runs back through the centuries to 1685, forged in a time when the Duke of Beaufort first raised his Musketeers in Devon.
PHOTO: David Fitzgerald
The Rifles received the Freedom of Torbay back in 2007 and now the council has given them the opportunity to reaffirm that freedom. They have been gifted the ‘Rifles’ Garden within the in King’s Garden just in front of Torre Abbey. The Rifles are the biggest regiment in the army, with 5 Rifles currently serving in Estonia. However, on this day, reservists, cadets and The Salamanca Band and Bugles were on parade in a wonderful atmosphere. They have just returned from duties in Gibraltar, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. They have also performed their duty at the funerals of the late Colonel-in-Chief, The Duke of Edinburgh, and the late Queen. More recently, they played at the coronation of King Charles and the new Colonel-in-Chief, Queen Camilla.
After the event, Commodore Jake Moores reflected on the ceremony, saying, “It has been an honour to have been invited today to meet some of the riflemen, cadets and standard bearers in this beautiful garden. My office as High Sheriff comes to an end in March of next year and this has been one of the highlights of my term.”
VIDEO AND INFORMATION VIA DAVID FITZGERALD