SOMERSET NEWS: Flying the flag for Armed Forces Day

SOMERSET NEWS: Flying the flag for Armed Forces Day

THE Yeovil Country Park was flying the flag - or 15 of them to be precise - for Armed Forces Day today (Saturday, June 27, 2015).

There was an amazing festival flag trail at the country park – better known as Ninesprings – which people could follow.

The 15 flags had been designed by local Armed Forces families and local community groups.

Members of South Somerset District Council’s countryside service were on hand, as well as representatives of the Soldiers Sailors Airmen and Families Association Forces Help, more widely known as SSAFA.

The council’s countryside manager, Katy Menday, said: “The rangers worked with local Service families and community groups in a variety of workshops to design festival scale flags.”

The Flying the Flag event and workshops were supported by the Armed Forces Community Covenant Fund.

South Somerset District Council was awarded £16,000 by the Fund to promote the aims of the Covenant that encourage activities which help to integrate the Armed Forces Community into local life, and to nurture public understanding and awareness of issues affecting the Armed Forces Community.SOMERSET NEWS: Flying the flag for Armed Forces Day

PHOTO – ABOVE: Countryside rangers, members of SSAFA and visitors to the Yeovil Country Park supporting Armed Forces Day today (Saturday, June 27, 2015).

PHOTO – RIGHT: Chairman of Somerset County Council, Cllr Christine Lawrence, raises the Armed Forces Day flag at County Hall in Taunton.

Cllr Sylvia Seal, the district council’s spokesman for leisure and culture, said: “With RNAS Yeovilton so close, and with so many Service families living in or near the town, we thought the country park is a great space to create an appropriate display on this years Armed Forces Day.

“We are hoping for great weather at the weekend so why not bring a picnic to the park, join in the fun and then relax and enjoy the green space.”

There was a 25 per cent discount on hot drinks and milkshakes for all serving military personnel on production of their service ID cards at the Ninesprings Café.

The event was just part of a series of projects that are being delivered in Yeovil Country Park, over the next two years, funded by the Armed Forces Community Covenant Fund.

Armed Forces Day celebrations began on Monday (June 22, 2015) when the Armed Forces Day flag is raised on buildings and famous landmarks across the country.

District council chairman, Cllr Mike Best, raised the flag at the authority’s offices in Brympton Way, Yeovil, to show support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community; from currently serving troops to Service families, veterans and cadets.

A similar ceremony took place at County Hall in Taunton where the chairman of Somerset County Council, Cllr Christine Lawrence, also raised the Armed Forces Day Flag.

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