Flag raised to mark Armed Forces Day
Armed Forces Day on Saturday 24 June is our chance to show our support to everyone in the Armed Forces community: from currently serving troops to Service families, veterans and cadets.
To mark the occasion, Vale of White Horse District Council’s new Armed Forces and Veteran’s Champion, Cllr Mark Coleman, helped to raise the official Armed Forces Day flag at the council’s Abbey House office in Abingdon.
Cllr Mark Coleman said: “The Armed Forces are very much part of the Vale of White Horse community, and we are proud to support them and to show our appreciation for their service.
“We must also say thank you to the Service families across the district who do so much to support their loved ones.”
Mark was joined at the flag raising by Cllr David Bretherton, Armed forces and Veterans’ Champion at South Oxfordshire District Council who also served in the RAF.
To find out more about Armed Forces Day, visit armedforcesday.org.uk
More about the council’s Armed Forces and Veteran’s Champion, Cllr Mark Coleman
Mark served in the Royal Air Force for 37 years as a Fighter Controller, supporting the air defence of the United Kingdom. He held several command appointments, including station commander of RAF Scampton, home of the famous WWII Dambusters, and of RAF Boulmer, where he commanded the United Kingdom’s air surveillance and control system.
Mark deployed on operational tours in the Falkland Islands, Iraq, and Afghanistan. His final tour in the Service was as the UK’s liaison officer to US European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, after which he retired in April 2020.
