Thousands show support for RNAS Yeovilton
People in Yeovil turned out in their thousands to show their support for sailors and Royal Marines from HMS Heron — better known as Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton — as they marched through the town last week, exercising their Freedom of the Borough of Yeovil to mark the 70th anniversary of the commissioning of the air station. Granted to the naval air station in 1962, the Freedom gives the right to parade “with bands playing, colours flying and bayonets fixed”.
Though these days honorific, the notion of freedom of the borough is an ancient privilege, dating from an era when standing armies, abroad in the countryside, were often feared by townsfolk. To be given the right to enter a town and parade in this way was considered a sign of great trust. As Commander Tim Ferns, Executive Officer at RNAS Yeovilton, explained: “Right from the very start in 1940, when the first personnel arrived and were billeted with the local vicar, HMS Heron has enjoyed fantastic support from the people of Yeovil and surrounding areas, who have not only put up with their noisy neighbour but have welcomed, helped us and worked with us.”
Not Forgotten Association has its 90th birthday
On Thursday evening the Princess Royal held a reception and concert at Buckingham Palace to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Not Forgotten Association by the American Marta Cunningham in 1920. Educated at the Convent of Notre Dame, Baltimore, before training as a soprano singer in Europe, Cunningham made her debut as a soloist in the coronation concert of Edward VII in 1901, and presented regular “matinees musicales” at Claridges, London. During the First World War she undertook charity work, and was horrified by the number of wounded ex-servicemen who were apparently forgotten by their country only a year after the end of the war. This inspired her to set up the “Not Forgotten” association to provide entertainment and recreation for injured ex-servicemen. The association continues to cheer the lives of the wounded of later conflicts and supports 15,000 men and women every year.