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HMS ENDURANCE TO RECEIVE FREEDOM OF THE CITY
Portsmouth is to grant its highest honour to HMS ENDURANCE. The Freedom of the City is a civic honour and represents the highest award that is in the power of the city to bestow and Councillors have agreed to grant the honour to HMS ENDURANCE.
The Free status dates back to medieval times when city and town charters drew a distinction between free men, and vassals of a feudal Lord. Early Freedom of the City ceremonies had great importance in affirming that the awardee enjoyed privileges such as the right to earn money and own land, and protection within the town.
In contemporary society, the award of Freedom of a City tends to be entirely ceremonial and an award to a military unit, gives them the right to march into the city “with drums beating, colours flying and bayonets fixed”. (To do so without the Freedom of the City would historically be regarded as an act of aggression).
In 2005, HMS ENDURANCE was chosen to carry Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh at the International Fleet Review as part of the Trafalgar 200 Celebrations.
Around 170 ships from over 30 of the world’s navies gathered at Spithead, near Portsmouth, at the invitation of the Royal Navy. As the largest review ever staged, it demonstrated the strong international links which the Royal Navy has developed during Britain’s rich maritime history.
Although two-thirds of the Royal Navy’s surface fleet is based in Portsmouth, HMS ENDURANCE is the only ship officially associated with Portsmouth.
ENDURANCE’S Commanding Officer, Capt Nick Lambert, said he was absolutely delighted.
`This really is a wonderful thing for the city to bestow on a ship,’ he said. `We all really value our associations with cities and it is particularly interesting for us because Portsmouth is an important naval base as well’.
`The Lord Mayor has always taken an interest in us and visited many times and this honour is something we can be very proud of.’
Lord Mayor Fred Charlton said; `We are very fond of HMS ENDURANCE in this city.’
No date has yet been confirmed for the official ceremony.
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