Royal British Legion receiving Freedom of Peterborough is ‘high honour’
The Peterborough branch of the Royal British Legion believes receiving the Freedom of the City is a “high honour”.
The charity which supports current and former servicemen and women, and their families, will receive Peterborough’s most prestigious accolade at a special ceremony on Wednesday.
The RBL recently celebrated 100 years in Peterborough, and branch president Tony Elsey said: “It was with great pride and excitement that we learned that Peterborough City Council was proposing to confer on our branch this very high honour and accolade.
“Our thanks must go to Cllrs John Fox and Mohammed Farooq for so kindly and so eloquently proposing this motion.
“We shall continue to offer help and assistance to the servicemen, women and veterans in our city and to extend an invitation to them all to join our branch and so enjoy comradeship whilst helping us to help those in need.”
The motion to bestow Freedom of the City status on the RBL highlights the huge contribution made by the charity over the past 100 years, including funding for four war memorials, huge amounts raised through the annual Poppy Appeal and representation at civic events.
The motion states: “Over the years the branch has been extremely fortunate to have had lots of dedicated volunteers - a tribute should be paid to all of them.
“The logistical challenges are huge but they are ultimately raising funds for the welfare of our servicemen and women, and veterans.”
The nominations have been made by the council’s Honours Panel.
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