‘A great honour’: Royal Australian Artillery granted Freedom of Entry to Palmerston
IN PICTURES: Hundreds of soldiers march through Palmerston with swords drawn, bayonets fixed, bagpipes blaring and heavy artillery on display.
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More than 200 soldiers wielding bayonets and swords, four M777 Howitzer artillery guns, bagpipes and drums have marched through the Palmerston streets on Friday, in celebration of 50 years of service by 8th/12th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery.
The Freedom of Entry march took place at Goyder Square from 5.30pm, coinciding with the Palmerston markets.
It is a tradition dating back to medieval times when trusted military units would be granted Freedom of Entry to walled towns to replenish food and supplies.
Commanding Officer of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Sam Colclough said it was an honour to accept the highest accolade a town could award a military unit.
“It’s such a great honour for our team,” he said, speaking at a rehearsal for the march at Robertson Barracks on Thursday.
“The regiment was formed 50 years ago, but it’s been here in Palmerston since 1999, our soldiers live in this community, they work here every day, we have strong links with the people of Palmerston, so on our 50th birthday it wouldn’t seem right to not acknowledge them.
“We’ve been invited there by the Lord Mayor and the council of the City of Palmerston to celebrate our regiments birthday and demonstrate our strong links to the community.”
As part of the ceremony, Lieutenant Colonel Colclough was issued a “Challenge” by an NT Police Officer symbolically guarding the city.
Lieutenant Colonel Colclough then presented an official scroll giving the regiment the right to parade through the streets with weapons drawn, band playing and a banner of Queen Elizabeth II flying.
The 8th/12th Regiment was formed at the Holsworthy Barracks on 16 November 1973 through the amalgamation of the 8th Medium Regiment and the 12th Field Regiment.
It provides field artillery support to the 1st Brigade based in Darwin and is currently equipped with 155mm M777 Howitzers – a 4.2 tonne weapon capable of firing rounds more than 20km.
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