'Respect' for armed forces as war hero honoured
BBCHundreds of serving personnel and veterans have paraded through the streets of Leeds to celebrate Armed Forces Day.
The annual event saw stalls, displays, live music and military vehicles entertain the public on Briggate in the city centre, while civic buildings were illuminated red, white and blue.
The occasion, hosted by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, councillor Stephen Holroyd, also saw a blue plaque unveiled for war hero Wing Cdr John Connell Freeborn DFC.
Prof Adeeba Malik, Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, said: "It's been a great turnout and the respect given to the people on parade, the military, the charities, the veterans, shows everybody knows this is a very important day."
Prof Malik added: "The fact the event is celebrated every year shows how important it is to the people of Leeds.
"Each year we don't forget. We recognise, we celebrate and we are thankful and grateful."
During the celebrations, a blue plaque was unveiled honouring Wing Cdr Freeborn.
Born in Leeds in 1919, he flew Spitfires in some of the fiercest fighting of the war, including Dunkirk, where he was forced down in France and evaded capture by German forces for three days before reaching safety.
On 11 August 1940, he was scrambled four times in just eight hours, shooting down three enemy aircraft in a single day.
For his courage and skill in combat, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross twice during the war.
Martin Hamilton, director of Leeds Civic Trust, said: "All our blue plaque unveilings are different, some are very small, but this I have to say is one of the largest ones we've done.
"A big audience, big crowd, which is great because we really want to celebrate the achievements of this man."
The Trust said the plaque was the city's 209th, making Leeds the largest blue plaque city outside London.
Speaking about Armed Forces Day, Hamilton said: "It means a great deal.
"We all have relatives, we all know people who've been involved in World War Two, I'm certainly no exception.
"My father did national service, he told some of his stories so sharing those stories with other people today is brilliant."
Holroyd said it had been very special to host the event.
"We've got this tradition of the Armed Forces in Leeds, from Sea Cadets to the Royal Yorkshire Regiment.
"So it's a privilege to be able to host it here and also to teach the general public about what they do and the history of Leeds.
"That's what I've seen today, young people walking around asking questions saying what's this all about?
"It's an honour to come to the end of my first month in office and I get to do something as glorious as this to top it off."
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