ROYAL Air Force reservists will march through Oxford on Saturday for the first time since receiving the Freedom of the County.

It will be the second time RAF Brize Norton’s 4624 Squadron has paraded in the county since it was awarded the honour by Oxfordshire County Council in May last year.

They previously marched in Witney to mark the beginning of Battle of Britain Week last month.

Dignitaries including Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire Tim Stevenson, county council chairwoman Anne Purse, Lord Mayor of Oxford Mohammed Abbasi and the squadron’s honorary air commodore Air Marshall Philip Sturley will attend, with a formal presentation of the Freedom Scroll.

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More than 100 members of the squadron – holding ceremonial weapons with bayonets and accompanied by the Band of the Royal Air Force College – will form in Keble Road and will march to St Giles Square from 2pm.

Mrs Purse and Air Marshall Sturley will take the salute and inspect the parade with Mr Stevenson, before an exchange of gifts.

From St Giles the parade will continue to the top of Magdalen Street, passing George Street before it halts outside County Hall.

The parade follows the county council signing the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant, in which it promised to encourage employers to take on reservists in their workforce.

Mrs Purse said: “It’s a huge privilege to host 4624 Squadron as they exercise their right to parade through the city.

“Oxfordshire has always been a county in which the military has been well represented and the county council is proud to support our armed forces.

“The council is also highlighting the benefits reservists can bring to local employers – including the council itself, which employs six.”

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