Armed Forces Day 2011
Armed Forces Day 2011 took place on Saturday 25th June, with the main parade held on the Royal Mile in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, which was this year's host city. The personnel of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force took the salute from Prince Charles, at the Scottish Parliament, in the presence of dignitaries, including the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, the Defence Secretary, the First Minister of Scotland, and the Chief of the Defence Staff. Over Edinburgh there was a fly-past by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the Red Arrows. HMS Portland, a Royal Navy frigate, was moored at Leith, Edinburgh's port, for public tours.
In Windsor, Berkshire, at the Victoria Barracks, the Irish Guards were awarded their Afghan operational medals by Prince William – who is their ceremonial Colonel of the Regiment – and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
Further events and parades were held across the United Kingdom. At the Royal Navy's base in Portsmouth, a number of public events took place over the weekend, and Royal Navy destroyers HMS Gloucester and HMS Daring were docked and available to the public.
Read more about this topic: Armed Forces Day (United Kingdom)
Famous quotes containing the words armed, forces and/or day:
“Behold now this vast city; a city of refuge, the mansion house of liberty, encompassed and surrounded with his protection; the shop of war hath not there more anvils and hammers waking, to fashion out the plates and instruments of armed justice in defence of beleaguered truth, than there be pens and hands there, sitting by their studious lamps, musing, searching, revolving new notions.”
—John Milton (1608–1674)
“There is the falsely mystical view of art that assumes a kind of supernatural inspiration, a possession by universal forces unrelated to questions of power and privilege or the artist’s relation to bread and blood. In this view, the channel of art can only become clogged and misdirected by the artist’s concern with merely temporary and local disturbances. The song is higher than the struggle.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)
“Every day one should at least listen to a little song, read a good poem, look at a fine painting, and, if possible, say a few reasonable words.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)