Armed Forces day in Exeter

Armed Forces Day takes place in Exeter on Saturday (23 June) with a march through the city centre and salute from the Guildhall.

243 Field Hospital will be exercising their Freedom of the City and leading the parade, which sets off from Paris Street at 11am and includes the Barnstaple Youth Band, Exeter Pipes and Drums and over 400 serving personnel, veteran associations and cadet forces.

The parade heads along the High Street and past Exeter’s Historic Guildhall, where the Lord Mayor of Exeter, Cllr Rob Hannaford will be taking the salute along with the Deputy Lieutenant and representative from 243 Hospital.

The forces will then assemble on the Cathedral Green, where the Barnstaple Youth Band will perform at 11:40am.

This will be followed by a Military Village on the Green with various stalls and activities and a preview of the forthcoming Shrouds of the Somme installation, The Trench – The Missing of the Somme, which comes to Exeter’s Northernhay Gardens from 30 June to 8 July.

At 12.30pm Exeter Pipes and Drums will perform on the Green and at 4pm the Military Village will disassemble.

Lord Mayor of Exeter, Cllr Rob Hannaford, said: “These are always special occasions for Exeter and this is a great opportunity for the city and its people to come out on the streets and say thank you to all our forces.”