207 (Manchester) Field Hospital (Volunteers) to receive freedom of the city
18 October 2011
Saturday 22 October will see 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital (Volunteers) awarded the freedom of the city of Manchester for their life-saving work in war-torn countries.
The freedom of the city is the highest honour Manchester can bestow.
207 Field Hospital will assemble on Albert Square at 10.10am. The Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Harry Lyons JP and the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, Warren Smith JP, will be invited to inspect the troops before calling on Sir Howard Bernstein, Manchester City Council Chief Executive, to confer the Honorary Freedom of the City upon the field hospital.
207 Field Hospital will then exercise their right of freedom by marching through the city accompanied by The Lancashire Artillery (Volunteers) Band, before joining the Lord Mayor for a reception at the town hall.
The Hospital was founded in 1885, when a Volunteer Medical Staff Corps was formed from professors and lectures at Owen's College (the predecessor of the University of Manchester) and from influential Manchester gentlemen.
207 Field Hospital is one of eleven TA units whose role is to provide medical support to UK Forces on operations overseas. The field hospital ran the British Military Hospital in Iraq for part of 2004 and more recently staffed the British Military Hospital in Afghanistan having completed a successful and rewarding four-month operational tour of duty on 31 January 2011.
Colonel Kerry Trow, Commanding Officer of 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital (Volunteers), said: "We are soldiers first, healthcare professionals second. The satisfaction from doing our jobs well, providing first class care for British soldiers, is the only reward we seek. So, to be honoured in this way with the Freedom of the City by the Council and the people of Manchester is a huge privilege. It makes us enormously proud and is one of the most important events in the history of 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital (Volunteers)."
Lord Mayor of Manchester, Cllr Harry Lyons JP, said, "It is an great privilege to present the freedom of the city to the 207 Field Hospital.
"The men and women of this Unit do a remarkable job and we are proud to be conferring the City's highest honour upon 207 Field Hospital."
