All Entries Tagged With: "Freedom of the City"

HMCS Malahat exercises Freedom of the City

Granted initially to HMCS Malahat in 1983 and exercised again in 1998 to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the Naval Reserve, the tradition of granting Freedom of the City to a military unit goes back more than three centuries. The Freedom of the City means, in the physical sense, granting the privilege for all time for a specific military unit to march through the city with ‘drums beating, colours flying, and bayonets fixed’. It is a most prized honour, for it recognizes the record of the military unit and demonstrates the affection and esteem with which the community holds it and the trust the citizenry has in it to safeguard their democratic institutions.