Welsh Royal Naval Reservists bid farewell to Barry with parade ahead of Cardiff Bay move

A parade to bid farewell to the Welsh Royal Naval Reservists has taken place in Barry.

The unit make their long-awaited move to Cardiff Bay this year after 40 years in Barry. The parade was to show gratitude to the town for its support.

Over 60 members of Wales’s only Maritime Reserve Unit and a Ceremonial Guard marched from Kings Square to the Civic Offices, led by the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Commando Training Centre, Lympstone.

Commanding Officer of HMS Cambria, Commander Steve Fry, said the relationship with the South Wales town will always be 'strong':

HMS Cambria has a distinguished history in Wales.

The Unit was commissioned in 1947 and originally based in Cardiff Docks. The present buildings at Sully were opened four decades ago on 15 October 1980.

It was awarded the Freedom of the County of the Vale of Glamorgan in April 2012 - the highest civic honour for a military unit.

Until 1993, Cambria's main operational role was manning and operating minesweepers in support of Fleet operations.

Since 2003 a regular number of the Unit’s volunteer reservists, who are recruited across South Wales and the Vale of Glamorgan have served across the world including conflict zones innIraq, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and the Balkans.