TRIUMPHANT airmen filled the town centre with colour and music as the RAF Freedom Parade marched through Swindon for the last time yesterday.

Servicemen from RAF Lyneham have carried standards through the town every two years since the base was granted the Freedom of Entry to the borough in 1964.

However, yesterday’s parade was the station’s last because it is closing next year and moving operations to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Hundreds of people, including veterans and local dignitaries, lined the streets to watch the spectacle, which included a fly-over by a Hercules.

Flt Lt John Hook, a parade adjudant, said: “The parade went really, really well.

“It’s always a nice thing and we don’t get that many opportunities to march through a town or a city.

“I think with what’s going on in Afghanistan and throughout the world there’s a lot of support for the armed forces which is good but it’s always good to see it first hand.

“There were hundreds of people out to support us today all the way around the roads, and the odd person stood on their front doorstep and applauded us and cheered when we went by.

“We have been supported by the town for such a long time and it’s sad the fact the base is closing and that the ties with Swindon are reduced.”

The Freedom of the Borough dates back to the days when most of England’s towns and cities were walled.

Yesterday’s parade started at 1pm when the band and two flights of about 30 personnel gathered in the car park outside of the Civic Centre.

Under the command of Wing Commander Jon Hough, standard drills were carried out and the standards of the three squadrons based at Lyneham, 24, 30 and 47, were paraded.

After an inspection by Swindon’s mayor, Coun Ray Ballman, the parade marched down Euclid Street and Clarence Street, before looping around onto Commercial Road and past the Wyvern Theatre, before returning to the Civic Offices. Swindon Sea Cadets also took part in the parade.

Outside the town hall, the airmen saluted Coun Ballman, who was standing on a podium, and the crowd watched a Hercules fly past.

Coun Ballman said: “I think it went very well. I think it’s one of the things the armed forces do very well and I think it was very well organised which you would expect.

“I think they were very, very smart and marched beautifully, and the band played well for us.

“I think it’s sad it’s the last parade.

“It’s sad to see the last Hercules go and I think it’s sad to know they will not be marching again and we will not have this close association with Lyneham.”

Among those in the crowd were David Ockenden, 69, of Old Town, who was a standard escort in the first Freedom Parade when he was a sergeant based at Lyneham.

He said: “It’s a shame it’s closing. They have done a fantastic job, they have got a worldwide reputation for the way they do things.”