Ram mascot leads Mercian Regiment parade through Derby

Hundreds of people lined the streets as members of a military battalion paraded through a city led by its mascot - a Swaledale ram named Private Derby.

The 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment, is due to merge with the 1st Battalion in September and the parade in Derby was to mark the amalgamation.

Its regimental band led the march.

Lt Col Richard Grover, commanding officer of 2 Mercian, said it was "always a very special occasion to march through a city such as Derby".

"Derby is a significant part of the fabric of our regiment," he said.

"It is one of the important cities that we hold dear and this was an opportunity to keep ourselves in the public eye and also to say thanks to the city of Derby for their continued support to the Mercian Regiment.

"It is also poignant for us because it is an opportunity to remember those who have fallen through the years."

The parade formed on Full Street before marching down Corporation Street for an inspection outside the Council House by the Lord Lieutenant for Derbyshire Liz Fothergill.

She said: "You cannot overestimate the significance of the Freedom of the City parade by 2 Mercian."

The Mercian Regiment was established in 2007, with the merger of the Cheshire, Staffordshire and Worcester and Sherwood Foresters Regiments, and was awarded the Freedom of Derby in the same year.

This allows the regiment the right to march through the streets of the city with bayonets fixed, drums beating and colours flying.

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