AN EMOTIONAL Cllr Marcus Barr was visibly moved when Wellington Town Council unanimously voted in favour of the town paying homage to The Rifles.

Councillors were hugely positive about the prospect of granting the ceremonial civic honour of the Freedom of Wellington to the British Army regiment The Rifles when they met to discuss the idea on Monday (January 10).

And Cllr Barr had to hold back the tears when he told councillors that this would be extremely personal to him as it would bring back memories of his childhood friend Jason Winter who, while serving with the Light Infantry, was killed in an IRA attack in Northern Ireland in the late 1980s.

"This is very close to my heart," he said. "This brings back memories of my closest friend Jason Winter who was killed in the Ballygawley bus bombing of 1988."

Jason, 19, had been on a bus carrying British soldiers in Northern Ireland in the early hours of August 20, 1988, when it was blown up in a roadside bomb attack.

The attacked killed eight soldiers - including Jason - and wounded another 28.

"I still remember that to this day," said Cllr Barr.

Cllr Barr, speaking the WWN after the meeting, said he and Jason were going to sign-up together for the Army at 16, but his mother would not sign the required papers, and so Jason went off to the military on his own, while Cllr Barr had to wait a couple of years before he could join.

"I sometimes think that had I signed-up at the same time I might have been on that same bus as Jason," said Cllr Barr. "He gave his life for our country."

The WWN reported last week how the Army’s largest infantry regiment, The Rifles, looked set to be granted the Freedom of Wellington to honour ties with the town dating back nearly 400 years.

The local regiment of the Somerset (Prince Albert’s) Light Infantry 13th Foot was formed in 1685 in the aftermath of the Duke of Monmouth’s defeat at the Battle of Sedgemoor.

The regiment then became part of the Somerset Light Infantry and was involved in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 with the Duke of Wellington - as part of the Peninsular Wars - and commemorated with the Wellington Monument.

The Somerset Light Infantry eventually became part of The Rifles - the Army’s largest infantry regiment - in 2007.

Clerk to Wellington Town Council Dave Farrow told councillors at their monthly meeting: "There are clear links between The Rifles and the town."

Cllr Sean Pringle-Kosikowsky has used his work links with the County Records Office and Museum of Somerset to draw a regimental ’family tree’ showing the formation and locality of the regiments making up The Rifles and those who fought in the Duke of Wellington’s campaigns. "There is great support for The Rifles and military in this town," he said. "It is very important that we honour The Rifles."

Cllr Andrew Govier recalled his father serving with the Somerset Light Infantry in Malaya as a National Serviceman. "Quite an experience for a young lad from Trull," he said. "But there are very strong links between the town and The Rifles and the Somerset Light Infantry."

Cllr John Thorne said he was very much in favour of granting the Freedom of Wellington to The Rifles. "It will be an honour for Wellington rather than just an honour for The Rifles," he said.

Local military historian Chris Penney was at the meeting where he outlined the importance of the The Rifles and first brought forward the Freedom of Wellington initiative in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic struck and the country went into lockdown in 2020.

Granting The Rifles the Freedom of Wellington will see massed ranks of servicemen parade through the town.

No date has yet been set for the parade but discussions are ongoing.