On the Saturday 15th March,2014 Mike Rock and I were very fortunate to be invited to attend the Freedom of the City (FOTC) Parade for HMS Defender as Dream-A-Way (DAW) representatives.
The two hundred men and women who serve onboard took part in the ceremony in the City.
The Lord Mayor, Rachel Lyons, formally conferred the FOTC on the ships company.
The Parade was led by the The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines from the commando training centre in Lympstone.
The Company was inspected by Rear Admiral Ben Key, the Lord Mayor and Lord Lieutenant of Devon, Eric Dancer.
The parade then marched off to take the salute at The Guildhall.
At a special informal reception the ships company presented DAW with a cheque for £802.
To add to this truly incredible amount we were then presented with a second cheque for £801 from Land Rover Defender.
These amazing donations were raised by the wonderful ships crew and the fantastic guys from Land Rover Defender who teamed up for the Three Peaks Challenge.
It was an absolute honour to represent DAW at the Ceremony, and a delight to meet the ships crew, talk with Commander Philip Nash and accept such an amazing donation.
It was a day that I will remember and treasure forever.
Julia Hall
