Rochdale to host Freedom Parade for the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers 50th anniversary

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers 50th Anniversary

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers will exercise its freedom with special parades through Bury, Rochdale and Salford during this years Gallipoli weekend to commemorate its 50 year anniversary.

The Rochdale and Salford parades will take place on Saturday 28 April whilst Bury will host on Sunday 29 April following a service at Bury Parish Church.

It is anticipated that over 400 people will take part in the parades over the two days with serving Fusiliers from both First and Fifth Fusiliers taking part as well as Cadets and Veterans also.

Civic guests and dignatories from each local authority area will join Colonel of the Regiment, General Paul Nanson MBE when taking the salute in each local authority district.

The first parade will take place in Rochdale at 11.15am on Saturday 28 April. The parade will form up on Yorkshire Street and follow a short route back to the Town Hall where a reception for invited guests will take place.

Colonel James Denny, Regimental Secretary for the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers said: “2018 is a very special year for the Regiment so we wanted to mark our 50th anniversary with a series of events that everybody could get involved with. The Freedom parades in Bury, Rochdale and Salford will enable members from the wider Fusilier family and the general public to come out in force and join in our special, anniversary celebrations.”

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, known as ‘The Fusiliers’, is an English infantry regiment in the British Army, formed from four historic Fusilier regiments in 1968. Since then, the Fusiliers have seen service across the world in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, the Balkans, the first and second Gulf Wars and Afghanistan. The regiment has two battalions and both adapt readily to challenging scenarios. 

The actual anniversary for the formation of the regiment was 23 April when a special thanksgiving service took place at the Regimental Headquarters in the Tower of London.