Around 150 service personnel from the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) will march through Exeter city centre on Saturday 21 June to exercise the unit’s Freedom of the City.
The march through Exeter will also mark the city’s celebration of Armed Forces Day, which is held a week earlier in Exeter.
This year’s parade will be led by Royal Marines from CTCRM. The Royal Marines were granted Freedom of the City in 1977. The honour grants the military unit the right ‘to march through the streets of the city with bayonets fixed, drums beating and Colours flying’.
Supporting the parade will be His Majesty’s Band of the Royal Marines from Plymouth.
There will also be a number of military associations and cadets marching, along with the Barnstaple Youth Band. A ‘Military Village’ will be set up on Cathedral Green, run by the 6th Battalion The Rifles, which will include recruitment stalls.
CTCRM, which is based in Lympstone, is the city’s oldest affiliated regiment. The Commando Training Centre is the primary training centre for the Royal Marines.
CTCRM is divided into three training wings (Commando Wing, Commando Training Wing, and Specialist Wing), each with its own Commanding Officer. On average, 1,300 recruits, 2,000 potential recruits, and 400 potential officers attend training courses at CTCRM every year. In addition, the training wings run upwards of 320 courses annually for a further 2,000 students.
Colonel Innes Catton RM, Commandant of the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, said: “Commando Training Centre Royal Marines has maintained a close connection with Exeter, which has flourished since 1977 when the Royal Marines were given the Freedom of the City.
“It will be a real privilege for CTCRM to march through the city on Exeter Armed Forces Day 2025, a day that will celebrate the unique bond between the city and the Royal Marines family who work and live in the community.”
Council Leader Phil Bialyk said: “In Exeter we’re proud to have such close links with the Marines in Lympstone, as we are with all the other regiments who have Freedom of the City.
“Armed Forces Day is a great way for the people of the city to come out and thank all the military units with a proud affiliation to the city and everything they do to keep this country safe.”
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