It was a proud day for many a serviceman and ex-serviceman as they marched through the ‘spiritual home’ of their regiment.

The Freedom of Winchester Parade saw crowds lining the streets giving applause as the soldiers marched to the tune of the band.

The day was held for the city of Winchester to bestow the freedom of the city on The Rifles regiment. It is the first time that The Rifles have had the honour since they were formed 10 years ago.

The parade began at Peninsula Barracks then onto the cathedral for the Turning Pages Ceremony and the Parade then went on to the Guildhall where the Mayor of Winchester Cllr David McLean inspected the troops.

Here General Sir Nick Carter chief of the general staff and head of the army, who is Colonel Commandant of The Rifles, gave a speech and awarded the Mayor on behalf of the city a silver bugle. The Mayor in turn awarded the regiment The Freedom of the City.

The General spoke of the army’s connection with the city in World War One and Two and of the regiment and his personal connection with Winchester, where he went to school, was trained and lived at the barracks.

Captain Steven Burton of The Rifles told the Daily Echo: “It’s an absolute honour to be here to receive the Freedom of the City. We were offered the Freedom of Winchester 10 years ago when we were formed but we said no, we will earn it.

"Since then we’ve been deployed on numerous operational tours to Afghanistan and Iraq with The Rifles currently deployed in Estonia, Africa and Iraq.”

He added “Our regiment was formed from four units, one of which was The Royal Green Jackets, which has had an association with Winchester for the past 148 years.”