THOUSANDS OF EYES RAISED TO THE SKY – AT THIS YEAR’S ARMED FORCES DAY IN LARNE

The rain may have been falling but thousands of people turned out for Armed Forces Day 2023, hosted by Mid and East Antrim Council and held at Sandy Bay Playing Fields.  The fantastic day had something for all the family and began with a parade from Larne Methodist Church lead by the brilliant Band, Buglers, Pipes and Drums of the Royal Irish Regiment. 

 

Following the band were representatives from each of the single services, cadets and veterans of course not forgetting Seamus the mascot Irish wolf hound from the Irish Guards. The parade then arrived and formed up at Sandy Bay Playing Fields for a Drumhead Service headed by representatives of the local churches.  

The Lord Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell took the salute to officially open Armed Forces Day. The event was action packed and featured a Military style village with interactive and static military displays, stands from many of the military including; Navy, Army and Royal Air Force as well as their representative cadet units.

To celebrate the King’s official birthday there was a 21 gun salute.  Within the military village there were military vehicles large and small for the visitors to experience as well an opportunity to sit in the Ulster Aviation’s touring Spitfire plane.

 

There was a tasty food area which had a great selection of drinks and food, a children’s entertainment area which featured lots of ‘take part’ activities, face painting and even a clown, stilt walkers and a ride on bubble machine.  There was a Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths ( STEM) competition with prizes for the lucky winners.

One of the highlights of the day was the fly over by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight featuring the Lancaster which thrilled everyone.

The stage was busy with the talents of The Music Yard, Larne, The Swingtime Starlets and The Gold Tips, which saw the audience take to ‘the floor’ and join in the singing and dancing.

The whole day was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the Armed Forces community and demonstrate the public support of thanks for the service of the serving troops, reserves, cadets and veterans as well as their families.  The day concluded with a musical Beating the Retreat.