Soldiers welcomed back from tours

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment have received a hero's welcome as they marched through a Kent town.

They paraded through Tunbridge Wells as part of their homecoming tour after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry, the first recipient of the Victoria Cross in 20 years, also visited a memorial in Dunorlan Park as part of the event.

It commemorates 10 soldiers from the town who received the VC for bravery.

Tour medals

Two local soldiers also received their operational tour medals in recognition of their tour of duty.

Private Andrew Neil, 22, from Tunbridge Wells, received his Operation Telic medal for service in Iraq.

Private Alex Chapman, 21, from Canterbury, who has served with 1 PWRR for 18 months, was presented with his Operation Herrick medal for his service in Afghanistan.

Tunbridge Wells mayor Leonard Price presented the medals in a ceremony in front of the Assembly Hall, in Crescent Road.

The soldiers returned to the UK from their base in Paderborn, Germany, at the end of May.

Eight parades

The regiment draws many of its soldiers from Kent, Sussex, Surrey, London, Middlesex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

It is also the infantry regiment that recruits from the Channel Islands.

Due to operational commitments, it is the first time in eight years the battalion, also known as the Armoured Tigers, has paraded in any of its local towns.

Last Saturday, the first of eight parades by the Tigers was held in Worthing, West Sussex.

Parades also took place in Portsmouth on Monday, in Southampton and Romsey, Hampshire, on Tuesday, in Guildford, Surrey, on Wednesday, and in Lewes, East Sussex, on Thursday.

The battalion will march through Canterbury on Saturday.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Ministry of Defence
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites