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FLAG day ... some of the thousands of people who lined the street for the parade. View gallery (total of 5 images)

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Marching home to a welcome fit for heroes

Words by Helen Johnson. Pictures by Sean Hansford

December 01, 2009

SOLDIERS returning from Afghanistan received a hero's welcome at a homecoming parade held in Rochdale on Monday.

Thousands lined the streets of the town centre, clapping, cheering and waving the Union Jack standard in honour of the Second Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, who have just completed a gruelling six-month tour of duty in Helmand Province.

The Battalion set off from the top of Drake Street at 11am, marching down onto South Parade and the Esplanade, past the Memorial Gardens, before finally ending up in front of Packer Spout behind the Town Hall.

Almost 250 soldiers took part in the parade, including the Minden Band of the Queens Division and the Corps Drum of Second Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

The parade passed off peacefully, with universal support for the troops from everyone who attended.

Many of those who had lined Drake Street later ran to Packer Street and Broadfield Park to catch a final glimpse of the troops before they went into the Town Hall for a reception with their families.

The Battalion is made up of mostly local lads, including Fusilier Nathan Sweeney, aged 21, who says he was delighted by the level of support the parade received.

Speaking after the parade Nathan, from Cronkeyshaw, said: "This was the second time I've been to Afghanistan, and it was a very hard seven months. I had no idea there were going to be so many people here, I thought a few might come, but I wasn't expecting anything like this. I'm just happy everyone came."

Nathan's family, who have another son in the army, Corporal Philip Sweeney, came out in force to watch him in the parade, including his immensely proud grandmother, Elizabeth Sweeney, from Oldham Road.

Mrs Sweeney said: "I'm delighted to be here and it's a wonderful turnout. People quite rightly think about how hard it is for the soldiers, but it's difficult for the families back at home too. We are all so glad to have him home. I'm so proud of Nathan."

Corporal Stephen Hague, from High Crompton, added: "The parade was really well supported, I didn't expect it to be as good as it was, it was outstanding."

Among those in attendance were pupils from dozens of local schools, including the nursery class from Beech House School and youngsters from Holy Family Primary School in Kirkholt.

Holy Family headteacher Helen Arnold said: "The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the significance of the Fusiliers' work was better understood by them following the parade."

Pupils from Healey Primary School made their own banner to give a special welcome to Fusilier Darren Rushton, who kept in touch with the children via letters since paying a visit to the school before going to Afghanistan earlier this year.

Chairman of Rochdale Township, Councillor Andrew Abbott, said he hoped the parade had helped to show the troops how highly they are valued by the people of Rochdale.

Councillor Abbott said: "This has been superb. Rochdale has really done itself proud in showing their support for the troops. We owe them a massive debt of gratitude and it is fantastic to see them home safe."

Former Fusilier, Councillor Peter Clegg, said: "It was wonderful to see the troops march through Rochdale. The hundreds of people who turned out to show their support should feel incredibly proud of these young men. They are true heroes and are fighting a difficult war under incredibly challenging circumstances. It is vital that they know just how much we are thinking of them."

Paul Rowen, MP for Rochdale, said: "I am incredibly pleased that the council organised the homecoming parade for the troops. Regardless of what you think of the war in Afghanistan, the soldiers are incredibly courageous young men doing what they love; serving their country. Their sacrifices need to be acknowledged and today the people of Rochdale did just that. I was extremely proud to watch these brave young men parade through our town."

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Most recent user comments 16 of 16

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In reply to Mandy40 I think that it is not me that has missed the point! When Saddam Hussain instigated the Gulf war by invading Kuwait ( who had no means to defend themselves)he caused instability in the middle east. Order had to be restored and countries had to be reassured that they would not become prey to his meglomanic ambitions. Had the west not intervened others could well have joined him such as Syria and Libya and made an attack on Israel who(as I commented previously) have nuclear capability and are friends of the west. He could,by his actions,very easily have begun a nuclear war in the middle east with far more fatalities than have emerged with our intervention. Yes he goaded President Bush and part was a face saving exercise on the part of a superpower,however destruction of the middle eastern countries had been averted. Osama Bin Laden and his Al Queda only want to destroy the western ethic and all it stands for and take the world into the dark ages. He wants to destroy the whole of democracy and have the world follow the extreme ways of the Taliban.He calls upon the disillusioned young muslims to rise up and fight his Jihad they not realising that they will give up their freedom for a cause that is not just. If you were in Afghanistan, As a woman you would have no rights,no social standing,no freedom of speech,be whipped or beaten for looking at a man other than your husband or male family member. You would not be allowed to work or learn anything in order to better yourself.You would not be able to go out unless you were covered from head to foot so to look all the same with no expression of individuality. The reason the troops are in Afghanistan is so that Osama Bin Laden if not killed can be brought to justice and order restored. The home issue to which you refer I.E; crumbling schools,hospitals closing,drug related crime and so on have been there for longer than just since 1990 and each political party has chose to paint over the problem instead of dealing with it.Would you suggest then that we have our troops reassigned as policemen and patrol the streets as they once did in Northern Ireland ? I would hope this will help you step back and reassess what you are trying to defend by your comments.

The Chef, Spotland
4/12/2009 at 12:59

Redberry we didn't have suicide bombers until this illegal invasion. Did you forget that out of your statistics? mandy40, 3/12/2009 at 10:34

If you read my original post I did not give any statistics but I did ask you a question about your statistics, which you have avoided giving an answer. When I refer to suicide bombers I don't just mean those in the UK I also include the innocent Afghan people who get blown up when they are at polling booths and even doing a bit of shopping at the markets. If you have any figures on this it would be interesting to compare it with the 700 you claim to have been killed by the allies. Of course there have been other bombings in Italy and Spain.

Please correct me if I am wrong but was the 9-11 murder of around 3,000 innocent Americans before the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe you don't include the animals who crashed the aircraft as suicide bombers.

Redberry, Manchester
4/12/2009 at 01:14

Chef you have missed my whole point. What did it have to do with us?

We have hospitals in dire need of beds and equiptment , crumbling schools, appaling housing to name a few.

This knee jerk move to invade Iraq after 9/11 was total stupidity by Blair.

Our own streets are unsafe Chef, why are we wasting all this money on something that didn't effect us any way shape or form?

If people don't like how a leader is running thier country then fight for change like us Brits had to do.

Send them all home and put them on the streets here and get rid of thugs and drug dealers and make it safe for old people to go out in peace. money better spent.

mandy40,
3/12/2009 at 16:43

I would like to add that had this country and it's allies taken the stance of 'Poland is nothing to do with us France is nothing to do with us why bother!' at the beginning of world war two we would have all been subjugated to do the will of Hitler.In his idea of a utopian society there were to be no jews, no religion other than the doctrine he persued, no one would be born and allowed to live if they had any physical or mental defects.Our fathers and grandfathers fought to give freedom to those that were unable to fight themselves. Saddam Hussain wanted what the Kuwaitis had which was money and Oil which he could hold the western world to ransom with.So in one respect it was over oil but there were the humanitarian issues of how he treated his people which was another. If you threaten a person with a gun,they don't know if it has bullets in it or not. But when you are disarmed that's when the truth is found out. I try to look at the world affairs with an open mind and feel that I am quite well learned in such affairs that you suggest that I am not.I do not want British troops to die for the sake of oil but likewise we should not turn our backs on those that suffer at the hands of thugs and bullies. If the troops pull out of Afghanistan before order and stability can be restored, chaos will once more reign.Would Mandy40 wish all the Afghans that want to flee the return to such a barbaric regime such as stoning Adulterers to have sanctuary in this country or as 'they have nothing to do with us' cover her ears to their cries for help?

The Chef, Spotland
3/12/2009 at 13:11

I cannot understand Mandy40's rant and how she feels the asian communities 'nose has been rubbed in it' as she puts it! As I commented the asian community only have the link of being Muslim Otherwise they would not embrace the safety and freedom that all in the west have comfort in! they don't follow the extreme doctrine of the Taliban.Maybe they should then they would understand the hardships and limited quality of life those in Afghanistan have to endure and the corruption from the people that are in power to govern them. I'm sure those that the innocents that perished in the 9/11 twin towers would have liked to have had a say seeing as there was no invasion at the time of Afghanistan to warrant such a cowardly barbaric act on behalf of one man Osama Bin Laden! While countries harbour and train extremists to take innocent lives for the cause of one man there will always be a time where the only form of defence is offence. While you're safely shopping here in this country remember that because of our intervention you need not worry about someone near you blowing themselves up and killing you for the sake of something you may feel the same way as he/she about. They are not likely to ask your opinion before they go BOOM!!!

The Chef, Spotland
3/12/2009 at 11:05

Redberry we didn't have suicide bombers until this illegal invasion. Did you forget that out of your statistics?

mandy40,
3/12/2009 at 10:34

mandy40, 2/12/2009 at 00:31 "Latest attack on Afghanistan , 20 alquido menbers killed and 700 innocent civillians killed".

Who or what are alquido? Would you happen to have the figure on how many innocent civilians were killed by the Muslim extremists known as suicide bombers? You appear to have missed this out of your statistics.

Redberry, Manchester
3/12/2009 at 00:19

Chef, Spotland What bullies around the playground???

What happens in a foriegn country had absolutley nothing to do with us, why are we there? (oil). Dont sit there chef banging on about something you know little about.

Chef, THERE were no weapons of mass destruction.

Chef. WE was never under threat.

Chef THESE soldiers arn't heroes.

It's not hard to grasp is it?

We invaded a foriegn country killed thousands of innocent civillains for no reason and no justification whatsoever.

I apologise to the asians of this town that the march was allowed to go on it must have been like rubbing your noses in it. but as i said please don't think we are all thick Blairites and bush believers.

Not in my name. .

mandy40,
2/12/2009 at 22:51

The fact is that no one wants for to fight in Afghanistan. The UK military is a volunteer malitia whose' function is to go and fight the people that the politicians tell them to. Anyone who signs up to the forces is by nature very brave, they effectively put their lives into the hands of parliament. Sir Cyril Smith famously quotes the House of Commons as being "The longest running farce in the West End" These politicians were funding the Afghans back in the 80's to fight the Russians. Gorge Orwell was so right!

Henry Kelly, Ireland
2/12/2009 at 12:15

There always has to be one doesn't there!! Unfortunately Mandy40 seems to be one of those that would join the gang of bullies in the playground rather than stand up for those that would face them. The asian community may have just one thing in common with the people in Afghanistan and Iraq and that is that they are Muslim. The conflicts are not over Religion, the army is not there on a crusade sent by the government to change them to Christianity! In the case of Afghanistan they harboured extremist terrorists that were trained to kill thousands of Innocent people for the cause of one man's hatred of the west. Osama Bin Laden! Who, incidentally is not from Afghanistan or Iraq or even Pakistan but chose to hide there due to the extreme muslim doctrine they follow with the Taliban. He is, (if he is still alive!) not bothered that many innocent Afghans are caught up in HIS fight and has used the Taliban to subjugate the innocent people into fighting his cause when many Afghans want to live lives like their neighbours in Pakistan with a taste of freedom and independance. Those are the people that the troops are fighting for, helping them to stand up to the bullies and corrupt officials that try to control their lifes. Saddam Hussain was also a bully who sabre rattled and invaded friends of the west because he thought (as bullies do) that he could get away with it.Like atrocities inflicted on his own people if they stepped out of line. I admit that the feeble excuse that weapons of mass destruction were there was not justified. But as he had boasted that he had them and directed missiles towards Israel,who themselves do have nuclear capability, it was necessary to invade rather than let Israel Nuke Baghdad like they probably would have. One can only poke a dog so many times before it bites. Those brave soldiers have faced the enemy,maybe not yours but they still have fought to help those who are unable to help themselves. You may be happy to have the bullies running the playground, the majority do not!

The Chef, Spotland
2/12/2009 at 10:56

mandy40 Get your facts right, learn how to spell and then have the face to make comments like that.

Extremelyproudmumofahero

Helen Boulton
2/12/2009 at 10:22

Good to see the strong support for the Soldiers on their return from fighting in Afghanistan at the same time tragic that there are some who will not be coming home. It was also good to see that none of the usual idiots turned up to protest. Although I don't agree with our troops going to a backward third world country that is living in the dark ages with an unbelievable amount of corruption. I do appreciate the courage and bravery of those that serve with such honour. Thanks to all of them and my condolences to those families who have lost their loved ones.

Redberry, Manchester
2/12/2009 at 01:23

Have we all forgotten why we invaded a foriegn country in the first place?

Not in my name thank you, and to all those people asking where our asian freinds were in this farce why the hell should they go applaud people who have murdered there people?

No weapons of mass destruction, no threat, you should be ashamed to even imply that the asians of Rochdale should attend thats an insult.

Latest attack on Afghanistan , 20 alquido menbers killed and 700 innocent civillians killed.

Hero's? dont make me laugh..

mandy40,
2/12/2009 at 00:31

A fine day and a warm welcome back, just what did the Rochdale Observer expect?

'The parade passed off peacefully, with universal support for the troops from everyone who attended.'

A riot?

John Lloyd
1/12/2009 at 22:09

My family and I are so pleased we and thousands other came out to support our wonderful troops yesterday.A lovely day but know even if it was wind, rain and snow we would all of still been stood there, the least we could do for them. So young, so brave so strong. Many of us had tears in our eyes as they marched by. You all made us so proud. Thank you.

lynned
1/12/2009 at 17:33

it may have been a cold day but those HERO'S got a WARM welcome from the people of Rochdale. I am proud to be a member of the big military family even though i was in a differant regiment. We are thinking of all those that did not come back and they will be for ever in our thoughts and prayers.