Intelligence Battalion marches through Hackney
Shoreditch based 3 Military Intelligence Battalion paraded outside Hackney Town Hall on Saturday 1 April to exercise their Freedom of the Borough in front of a crowd of spectators.
The Freedom of the Borough gives the battalion the right to march through the streets of Hackney on all ceremonial occasions with colours flying, drums beating and bayonets fixed.
Freedom of the Borough is the highest honour a Council can award. This was bestowed on 3 Military Intelligence Battalion in 2009 following a unanimous vote in the Council chamber to confer the award on this illustrious body of the armed forces.
The battalion has made a great impact on Hackney since moving to the borough in 2001, assisting in civic duties and helping Hackney remember the fallen on remembrance Sunday every year.
3 Military Intelligence Battalion is an Army Reserve unit which is operationally focused, a very large number of its officers and soldiers have completed operational deployments. In the past, the Unit has deployed personnel to Kuwait, the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Iraq, most recently to Afghanistan and in support of operations in Libya.
The parade by 3 Military Intelligence Battalion helps Hackney fulfil its support for our armed forces in the community, recognises the sacrifices our armed forces face and encourages the armed forces based in Hackney to integrate into the local life of the borough.
Hackney Council is a proud signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, a promise from the borough that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly. Marking 3 Military Intelligence Battalion’s Freedom of the Borough through parades helps the borough promote its work under this covenant.
You can view photographs of the event here.