5:00pm Tuesday 16th March 2010
LOVED ones of soldiers from the Royal Anglian Regiment are urging the people of Southend to support the regiment’s homecoming parade through the town in June.
About 200 soldiers from 1st Battalion, are due to take part in the march, on June 17.
The families and friends of soldiers in the regiment, currently on a tour of duty in Afghanistan, would like the public to turn out and make the parade a day to remember.
Jeannie Hughes, 50, will be travelling from her home near Epping, with her family to show her support for her Royal Anglian son Mark, 24, and his comrades.
She said: “It’s great for people to show their support. Whether you believe in the war or not, the job has to be done. There is no better way to show support than to turn up in the street with banners and cheer them on.
“It will mean a huge amount if they are publicly acknowledged for what they have done.
“They put their lives on the line every day for our safety and our future, so I think it’s fantastic there is going to be a parade for them.”
Fellow Viking mum, Maggie Griffiths, 52, will also be cheering the troops’ return – her son Mark, 27, is on his fourth tour of duty with the Vikings.
Mrs Griffiths, from Romford, said: “We’ll be down here big-time. I’ve volunteered to help with whatever I can.
“I already have a T-shirt for it – it says ‘My boy is back in town’.
“I don’t have the guts to do their job, I don’t think many people do. This sort of thing should be made more of. They are heroes.”
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