Local residents and visitors are invited to enjoy a service and parade by officers and company of HMS Portland to celebrate their freedom of the borough.
The service and parade will be hosted by Cllr Christine James, Mayor of Weymouth and Portland, at 2.45pm on Wednesday 11 May at the Cenotaph on Weymouth Seafront (opposite Prince Regent Hotel). The service will be conducted by Father Richard Harper.
The parade will start from Prince Regent Hotel at approximately 3:15pm and will go along Weymouth Seafront to the Weymouth Pavilion Theatre.
Cllr Christine James, Mayor of Weymouth and Portland, said: “Weymouth and Portland has a marvellous and colourful seafaring heritage and retains very strong links with the Royal Navy. This is a great opportunity to celebrate and embrace this freedom tradition and give the Officers and Company of HMS Portland a tremendous welcome.
“This is one of my last major events as Mayor, I have invited previous and present civic leaders and I’m sure a great show will be put on for the area.”
HMS Portland’s Commanding Officer, Captain Paul Stroude, said: “Despite our busy programme we were determined to make the time to visit HMS Portland’s affiliated borough. I know my Ship’s Company are looking forward to being able to exercise the freedom of the borough by marching along Weymouth Seafront. It will be another proud day in HMS Portland’s history and is a great honour. We are your Ship and I would like to encourage as many local people as possible to come out and see their sailors on parade.”
HMS Portland commissioned in 2001 and is one of the Royal Navy’s state-of-the-art Type 23 Frigates, the backbone of today’s fleet. This year she has already been worked hard in UK waters, undergoing an intensive training programme and maintenance period in preparation for forthcoming operations. Portland deploys overseas later this year for 9 months, and can expect to operate anywhere in the world protecting the nations interests. She could also be faced with varied non-combat tasks, ranging from searching suspect vessels, to providing humanitarian aid in the wake of a disaster, or conducting a non-combatant evacuation of British citizens from a global trouble spot.
HMS Portland remains one of the most effective warships in the world whose motto ‘Craignez Honte’ means ‘Fear Dishonour’.
