Celebrations of the Tercentenary of British Gibraltar culminated
with the award of the Freedom of the city to the Royal Navy, which
was responsible for the capture of the Rock from Spain on 4 August 1704.
HMS Grafton paid a visit, and the crew took part in the ceremony.
HMS Grafton, the 12th Type 23 Frigate to enter service in the Royal Navy, was
built by Yarrows Shipbuilders, now part of BAE Marine, on the River Clyde in
Scotland and was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 5 November 1994. She
formally entered service in 1996 as the eighth ship to bear the name. She
belongs to the Portsmouth Flotilla and is based at Portsmouth Naval Base
on the south coast of England.
On the evening of Wednesday 4th August 2004, the Royal Navy,
represented by First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Alan West, was awarded the
Freedom of the City of Gibraltar in a ceremony at Grand Parade.
High resolution picture (1.5mb)
As his last official act as Mayor,
Judge John Alcantara signed the Freedom Scroll and presented the
casket containing the scroll to Sir Alan. Present at the ceremony
were Armed Forces Minister Geoff Hoon, Chief Minister Peter Caruana,
Governor Sir Francis Richards and the previous governors visiting
Gibraltar, past and present Members of the House of Assembly.
The 'freedom' has been conferred on the Royal Navy "in recognition
of its close association with Gibraltar over the past 300 years, as
an expression of the regard, esteem and friendship in which the
Royal Navy is held by the people of Gibraltar and in commemoration
of the role that the Royal Navy has played in the social and
economic development of Gibraltar and its people,"
After the ceremony some 300 servicemen marched through Gibraltar's
Main Street, with bayonets fixed, bands playing, and swords drawn
as provided for under the honour.
Chief Minister, Peter Caruana commented "The relationship between
Britain and Gibraltar has thus been beneficial to both in manner
that we form an important part of each other’s heritage. It is no
coincidence that, to this day, the Royal Marines cite just one
battle honour on their colours, the single word "Gibraltar". Nor is
it a coincidence that the Royal Engineers were born in Gibraltar.
For the Royal Navy, for the Army and (more recently) for the Royal
Airforce, Gibraltar has been a “home from home” base for centuries,
resulting in the building of the famous dockyards and airfield, and
miles upon miles of ramparts, bastions and tunnels, all of which
now form such an important part of our heritage."
A good day was had by all those who participated.
