PROUD soldiers of the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh will be marching through Chester on Saturday with drums beating, colours flying and bayonets fixed having been given the Freedom of the Borough by Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Councillors set aside their political differences to reach the unanimous decision, proposed by Upton Cllr Jill Houlbrook, (Con), at a special council meeting last Thursday.

Supported by Labour leader Cllr Derek Bateman (Central and Westminster) and Lib Dem leader Cllr Malcolm Gaskill (Winsford South and West), Cllr Houlbrook, whose Upton ward includes The Dale barracks where the battalion and its families are based, said she did so with ‘immense pride and gratitude’.

Blacon Cllr Reggie Jones (Lab), who has marched through the city as a member of the former Cheshire Regiment, referred to the battalion’s tour in Afghanistan: “I know only too well the fear of families and friends when they are away.

“The Freedom of the Borough is a significant thank you.”

Council leader Cllr Mike Jones (Con, Broxton) said the Freedom recognised the battalion’s hard work in Afghanistan which he described as ‘incredibly difficult’.

Chairman of the council, Chester’s Lord Mayor Cllr Neil Ritchie, will present a scroll conferring the Freedom status to commanding officer Lt Colonel Nick Lock.

He will then inspect the 500 soldiers and band on Castle Square at 11am and will take the salute in Eastgate Street with Col Lock.

Cllr Ritchie said:“I am looking forward to presenting the scroll to the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh which is a symbol of Chester’s strong bond with the soldiers and their families who are based at the city’s Dale Barracks.

“We saw them on their departure for Afghanistan last year and we all want to salute their courage and endurance in the tough conditions of that war and to honour their personal sacrifice and that of their families.”

Col Lock says the battalion is ‘delighted and honoured to receive the Freedom of Cheshire West and Chester’.

“We have been overwhelmed by the support we have received from the people of Chester since our arrival in the city in the summer of 2008, in particular throughout our recent tour of Afghanistan”, he added.

The battalion is looking forward to furthering its ties with Chester and to exercising its new Freedom.

Cllr Bateman said: “The Freedom of the Borough is extremely important for these brave soldiers who are only recently back from Afghanistan.

“We welcome their return and their contribution towards nation-building and I am sure that residents will line the streets when they exercise their right and march through Chester.”

Cllr Houlbrook first put forward the idea of conferring the Freedom.

“Since coming to Chester the Royal Welsh have worked hard to engage with the local communities of Chester in the knowledge they are to be based in the city for some 10 years,” she said.

“The 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh are now very much part of the Upton community.”