Freedom of the City - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community; the term applies to two separate honours, one civilian and one military. Key to the City is a similar award made in several other countries, and is more prevalent in the United States.

Military privilege

Freedom of the City is an ancient honour granted to martial organizations, allowing them the privilege to march into the city "with drums beating, colours

Colours, standards and guidons

In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours, standards or Guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some 5,000 years ago...

flying, and bayonet

Bayonet

A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...

s fixed".

This honour dates back to the laws of ancient Rome that made it a capital offence for Roman legions to enter the city in formation or with weapons without permission. This was meant to ensure that ambitious generals did not mount a military coup against the Senate. (It was that law that Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

broke when crossing the Rubicon.) Similar laws were passed by cities throughout the Medieval era, also to protect civic security and rights, even against their own king's troops.

However, legions, regiments, or other martial groups that had given heroic service or whose honour was beyond question, might be granted Freedom of the City: the group would not have to disarm or break ranks before the city gates were opened to them. Given the serious risk the city would be running, this was a rare honour.

Today, martial freedom of the city is an entirely ceremonial honour, but remains the oldest and one of the highest civic honours in the Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

Entitlement to civil privileges

A slightly more common freedom of the city is connected to the medieval concept of "free status", when city and town charters drew a distinction between freemen and vassals

Serfdom

Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...

of a feudal

Feudalism

Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...

Lord. As such, freemen actually pre-date 'boroughs'. Early freedom of the boroughs ceremonies had great importance in affirming that the recipient enjoyed privileges such as the right to trade and own property, and protection within the town.

Before parliamentary reform in 1832, freedom of the city or town conferred the right to vote in the 'parliamentary boroughs' for the MPs. Until the Municipal Corporations Act 1835

Municipal Corporations Act 1835

The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 – sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales...

the freemen were the exclusive electorate for the boroughs. These two Acts together curtailed the power of the freemen and extended the franchise to all 'householders' (local rate payers). The private property belonging to the freemen collectively was retained. York, Oxford and Newcastle-upon-Tyne still own considerable areas within their towns, although the income is effectively given to support charitable objects. The Local Government Act 1972

Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

specifically preserved Freemen's rights. The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009

Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009

The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The legislation places a duty on local authorities to promote understanding of the functions and democratic arrangements of the authority among local people...

removed any restrictions entitling only men to be freemen.

Freedom of the City of London

Liveryman and Freeman of the City of London
In England, the most extensive borough freedom is that conferred by the Freedom of the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

, first recorded in 1237. This is closely tied to the role and status of the Livery Companies. From 1835 the Freedom "without the intervention of a Livery Company" has been bestowed by a general resolution of Common Council, by 'redemption' (purchase), at one time for an onerous sum, but now for a donation to the Freemen's School.

New Freemen are enrolled in a ceremony in Guildhall, when they receive a guide to conducting their lives in an honourable fashion and an impressive sealed certificate. Freemen's children get admission preference at the City of London Freemen's School

City of London Freemen's School

City of London Freemen's School is a coeducational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located at Ashtead Park in Surrey, England. It is the sister school of the City of London School and the City of London School for Girls, which are both independent single-sex schools located within...

. There are a number of rights traditionally but apocryphally associated with Freemen—the right to drive sheep and cattle over London Bridge

London Bridge

London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...

; to a silken rope, if hanged; to carry a naked sword in public; or that if the City of London Police finds a freeman drunk and incapable, they will bundle him or her into a taxi and send them home rather than throw them into a cell. While sheep have occasionally been driven over London Bridge on special occasions, the rest of these "privileges" are now effectively symbolic.

The belief that freemen have droving rights over the bridges appears to be a misinterpretation of freemen's historic freedom from bridge tolls when bringing animals into the City for sale. Nevertheless, this "invented" right has been exercised periodically in modern times:

On August 19, 1999, Jef Smith, a Freeman of London walked 2 sheep over Tower Bridge in order to bring attention to the rights of older citizens.
On June 17, 2006, a flock of about thirty sheep was driven across the Millennium Bridge
Millennium Bridge (London)
The Millennium Bridge, officially known as the London Millennium Footbridge, is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the River Thames in London, England, linking Bankside with the City. It is located between Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge...

to mark the start of London Architecture Week.
On August 31, 2008, Amanda Cottrell, a former High Sheriff of the City, marched six rams across London Bridge to promote fundraising for the restoration of Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....

and "a scheme backing local food production"
On September 17, 2008, the Lord Mayor and some 500 Freemen drove a flock of Romney ewes in relay across the bridge to raise funds for the Lord Mayor's charities (Orbis
ORBIS International
Orbis International is an international non-profit non-governmental organization dedicated to saving sight worldwide. Orbis programs focus on the prevention of blindness and the treatment of blinding eye diseases in developing countries...

and Wellbeing of Women
Wellbeing of Women
Wellbeing of Women is a Charity based in the UK which raises money to invest in medical research and the development of specialist doctors and nurses working in the field of reproductive health. Every year the charity invests in research projects and allocates funds towards the training of doctors...

).

Prior to 1996, the Freedom was only open to British or Commonwealth Citizens over 21 years of age and of good character. There is a long-standing tradition of admitting women, who used to be called 'free sisters' but who are now also called Freemen.

Other UK cities

The status of Freeman is still thriving in many towns and cities in the United Kingdom. Each town or city where the admission of Freemen is carried out has its own regulations and customs for admission, and the fact that it is still taken seriously is evidenced by the promotion of a Local Act of Parliament

Local and Personal Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom

Local and Personal Acts of Parliament are laws in the United Kingdom which apply to a particular individual or group of individuals, or corporate entity. This contrasts with a Public General Act of Parliament which applies to the entire community...

, the Beverley Freemen Act 2010, to extend the categories of people entitled to be Freemen of the town of Beverley

Beverley

Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for Beverley Minster and architecturally-significant religious buildings along New Walk and other areas, as well as the Beverley...

in the East Riding of Yorkshire

East Riding of Yorkshire

The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...

.

The qualifications for borough freedom differ between each city or town, but generally fall into two categories, 'patrimony' (inheritance) and 'servitude' (apprenticeship). For example, in Chester

Chester

Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

and York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

, only the children or grandchildren (or great grandchildren in York) (male or female) of freemen may apply for admission. In York, apprenticeship to a freeman of the city will also allow admission though now rare, it has been used as recently as 2000. In Great Grimsby, the widow of a freeman passes his rights to her second husband who retains the privilege after either divorce from or death of the widow. The borough freedom is strongest in York, Chester, Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

and Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

, in the last named freedom is qualified by having served an apprenticeship. In England, Durham

Durham

Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

and Northampton

Northampton

Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

have extended their admission criteria to those who have served an apprenticeship without being 'bound' (trained by) by a Freeman directly.

Full information is available at the local authority of each city where Freemen are created.

Ireland

In Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, borough freedom of the city is generally given to noted foreign and national dignitaries and the list rarely exceeds a few dozen. The cities of Ireland generally give various privileges, for instance Dublin allows the right to vote in certain elections, bring goods for sale in the city without customs

Customs

Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...

and the right to pasture sheep on common ground such as College Green

College Green

College Green is a three-sided "square" in the centre of Dublin. On its northern side is a building known today as the Bank of Ireland which until 1800 was Ireland's Parliament House. To its east stands Trinity College Dublin, the only constituent college of the University of Dublin. To its south...

and St. Stephen's Green

St. Stephen's Green

St Stephen's Green is a city centre public park in Dublin, Ireland. The park is adjacent to one of Dublin's main shopping streets, Grafton Street, and to a shopping centre named for it, while on its surrounding streets are the offices of a number of public bodies and the city terminus of one of...

Civic honour

In contemporary society, the award of honorary freedom of the city or borough

Borough

A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

tends to be entirely ceremonial, given by the local government in many towns and cities on those who have served in some exceptional capacity, or upon any whom the city wishes to bestow an honour.

Today, the grant of honorary freedom in the United Kingdom is governed by the Local Government Act 1972

Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

(as amended by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009

Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009

). The 1972 Act enabled the councils of cities, royal boroughs, boroughs

Borough status in the United Kingdom

Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...

, and parishes (or, in Wales, communities) with the status of a royal town, to confer the status of honorary freeman on "persons of distinction and persons who have, in the opinion of the council, rendered eminent services" to the local area. The 2009 Act extends the ability to grant the status of Freeman to any county, city, district, borough, town, parish or community council (so removing the requirement for the town to have 'royal' status, and also enabling county councils to confer the honour). A special meeting of the council can grant the honour by passing a resolution with a two thirds majority at a specially convened meeting.

The key to the city award is used in many places, in a manner similar to freedom of the city (see below).

Key to the City

The Key to the City is a similar award that is descended from Freedom of the City. It is used in several countries, but is especially popular in the United States.

An ornamental key is presented to esteemed visitors, residents, or others the city wishes to honor. Evoking medieval walled cities whose gates were guarded during the day and locked at night, the key symbolises the freedom of the recipient to enter and leave the city at will as a trusted friend of city residents.

In some cities in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, the key to the city is given to the so-called "Prince carnival", which leads the carnivals which take place the week prior to Septuagesima

Septuagesima

Septuagesima is the name for the ninth Sunday before Easter, the third before Ash Wednesday. The term is sometimes applied also to the period that begins on this day and ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins. This period is also known as the pre-Lenten season or...

. The tradition is that the mayor steps down for the days, and so the power is transferred to the prince carnival, who returns the key at the end of Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...

/Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras

The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...

. Today, the handing over of the key is mostly symbolic and marks the start and end of the carnival.

In Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, instead of a key esteemed visitors receive a white Smithbilt

Smithbilt Hats

Smithbilt Hats is a Calgary-based hat manufacturer, producers of the white cowboy hat emblematic to Calgary. The company was created in 1919 after Morris Shumiatcher purchased the Calgary Hat Works for $300....

cowboy hat

Cowboy hat

The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the western and southern United States, western Canada and northern Mexico, with...

and usually recite one of two oaths (one formal, the other more silly) to become honorary Calgarians.

Australia

Adelaide, South Australia

No. 24 Squadron RAAF
No. 24 Squadron RAAF
No. 24 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron. The Squadron was formed in 1940 and saw action as a bomber squadron during World War II. Since the end of the war the Squadron has been an RAAF Reserve squadron located near Adelaide, South Australia....

Sydney

Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

: March 14, 2009

Maitland, New South Wales

Maitland is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle...

: 2006

Canada

Airdrie, Alberta

Airdrie is a city in Alberta, Canada, located just north of Calgary within the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The City of Airdrie is part of Calgary's Census Metropolitan Area and a member community of the Calgary Regional Partnership . Due to its proximity to Calgary, Airdrie's population has been...

Calgary Highlanders

Banff, Alberta

Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise....

National Army Cadet Summer Training Centre (formerly BNACC)

Calgary

, Alberta

14 (Calgary) Service Battalion
Calgary Highlanders: 1956
King's Own Calgary Regiment
Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)
Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)
Lord Strathcona's Horse is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Forces. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of Land Force Western Area's 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group...
4 Wing Cold Lake: May 11, 1999

Courtenay, British Columbia

Courtenay is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the largest city in the area commonly known as the Comox Valley, and it is the seat of the Comox Valley Regional District which replaced the Comox-Strathcona Regional District...

: 2008
Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, Alberta

The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry)
The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry)
The Loyal Edmonton Regiment , or LER, is a Primary Reserve infantry unit of the Canadian Forces based in Edmonton, Alberta. The LER is part of Land Force Western Area's 41 Canadian Brigade Group...

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Princess Louise Fusiliers
Maritime Forces Atlantic
Maritime Forces Atlantic
In the Canadian Forces, Maritime Forces Atlantic is responsible for the fleet and operations of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. The Commander of MARLANT is a two-star Rear Admiral....

Hamilton

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

, Ontario (Naval Reserve)

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada
Royal Hamilton Light Infantry

Kelowna

Kelowna is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley, in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its name derives from a Okanagan language term for "grizzly bear"...

, British Columbia

British Columbia Dragoons: February 11, 1963

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

Royal Military College of Canada
Royal Military College of Canada
The Royal Military College of Canada, RMC, or RMCC , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC was established in 1876. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers...

: 1976

London, Ontario

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...

The Royal Canadian Regiment
The Royal Canadian Regiment
The Royal Canadian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces. The regiment consists of four battalions, three in the Regular Force and one in the Primary Reserve...

(1st Battalion) 1980

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec

Canadian Grenadier Guards
Le Régiment de Maisonneuve
Le Régiment de Maisonneuve
Le Régiment de Maisonneuve is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces.The regiment is Canada's twenty-sixth most senior reserve infantry regiment, and comprises one battalion serving as part of the Land Force Reserve.-History:...
3rd Field Engineer Regiment (34 CER)
The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal)
The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal)
The Royal Canadian Hussars is a Primary Reserve armoured regiment of the Canadian Forces. The unit is based in Montreal.-Lineage:...
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada
The Black Watch of Canada is a reserve infantry regiment in 34 Brigade Group, Land Force Quebec Area. The regiment is located on rue de Bleury in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and is currently commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Bruno Plourde...
438 Tactical Helicopter Squadron

New Westminster, British Columbia

Royal Westminster Regiment, then called the Westminster Regiment, on 1963 May 24, on October 3, 2010

Ottawa, Ontario

The Royal Canadian Regiment
The Royal Canadian Regiment
The Royal Canadian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces. The regiment consists of four battalions, three in the Regular Force and one in the Primary Reserve...

(1st Battalion) 1953
The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa
The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa
The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces.-History:The 1st Volunteer Militia Rifle Company of Ottawa was formed on April 3, 1856. At that time, the bulk of Canada's militia existed as small, independent companies scattered throughout the provinces...

: 1969
26/28 Service Battalion: 2009: October 16, 2010

Quebec City

Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

, Quebec

Royal 22^e Régiment
Royal 22e Régiment
The Royal 22nd Regiment is an infantry regiment and the most famous francophone organization of the Canadian Forces. The regiment comprises three Regular Force battalions, two Primary Reserve battalions, and a band, making it the largest regiment in the Canadian Army...

Richmond

Richmond often refers to:*Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia*Richmond, North Yorkshire, the original Richmond in Yorkshire.*Richmond, London, previously Richmond, Surrey*Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Metro Vancouver...

, British Columbia

12 (Vancouver) Service Company
12 (Vancouver) Service Company
12 Service Company is a Canadian Army Primary Reserve combat service support unit of the Canadian Forces that can fight in a defensive role and provides logistical support to the units within Land Force Western Area's 39 Canadian Brigade Group, which consists of all Primary Reserve units in...

, then called 12 Service Battalion on 17 April 1993

Saskatoon

Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....

, Saskatchewan
Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario

48th Highlanders of Canada
48th Highlanders of Canada
The 48th Highlanders of Canada is a Canadian Forces Primary Reserve infantry regiment based in Toronto, parading out of Moss Park Armoury. The regiment is part of Land Force Central Area's 32 Canadian Brigade Group....
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada is a militia regiment within the Canadian Forces, based in Toronto, Ontario. The regiment is part of Land Force Central Area's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. It is the only Primary Reserve regiment in Canada to have a parachute role. The regiment consists of the reserve...

: 1948
The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's Own)
The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's Own)
The Toronto Scottish Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces. It is part of Land Force Central Area's 32 Canadian Brigade Group.-History:...

Uxbridge, Ontario

Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...

UNICEF
United Nations Children's Fund
United Nations Children's Fund was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II...

Team Canada: 2008

Waterloo, Ontario

Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....

31 Combat Engineer Regiment

Vancouver, British Columbia

15th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA
15th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA
15th Field Regiment, RCA is a Primary Reserve Royal Canadian Artillery regiment based in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the Bessborough Armoury. 15th Field Regiment is part of the 39 Canadian Brigade Group of Land Force Western Area....

: 1977
12 (Vancouver) Field Ambulance
12 (Vancouver) Field Ambulance
12 Field Ambulance is a Canadian Forces Primary Reserve medical unit in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:This unit has a long and distinguished history that lives up to the medical corps tradition of being faithful in adversity...

: 2007
British Columbia Regiment: 1983

Vegreville, Alberta

-Notable Vegrevillans :*Brent Severyn, former NHL defenseman*Cam Cole, Canadian sports writer*Laurence Decore, lawyer, former mayor of Edmonton, Alberta, and former leader of the Alberta Liberal Party*Roderick Fraser, former president of the University of Alberta...

41 Combat Engineer Regiment (From predecessor unit)

Vernon, British Columbia

Vernon is a city in the south-central region of British Columbia, Canada. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped found the famed Coldstream Ranch, the City of Vernon was incorporated on December 30, 1892. The City of Vernon has a population of 35,944 , while...

Vernon Army Cadet Summer Training Centre August 4, 1979

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry is one of the three regular force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army. The regiment is composed of four battalions including a primary reserve battalion, for a total of 2,000 soldiers...

(3rd Battalion)
Maritime Forces Pacific
Maritime Forces Pacific
In the Canadian Forces, Maritime Forces Pacific is responsible for the fleet and operations of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Pacific Ocean...
5th (British Columbia) Field Artillery Regiment, RCA
The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's)
The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's)
The Canadian Scottish Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces based on Vancouver Island British Columbia.The regiment is located in Victoria, Nanaimo, and Courtenay, British Columbia...
Major-General, The Honourable George Randolph Pearkes, V.C.
Royal Roads Military College
Royal Roads Military College
Royal Roads Military College was a Canadian military college located in Hatley Park, Colwood, British Columbia near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The facility is currently being used as the campus for Royal Roads University, a public university that offers applied and professional academic...

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

, Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry is one of the three regular force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army. The regiment is composed of four battalions including a primary reserve battalion, for a total of 2,000 soldiers...

(2nd Battalion) 1989
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry is one of the three regular force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army. The regiment is composed of four battalions including a primary reserve battalion, for a total of 2,000 soldiers...

(2nd Battalion) October 13, 1995 May 5, 1985
Royal Winnipeg Rifles June 4, 1983
CFB Winnipeg
CFB Winnipeg
Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg , is a Canadian Forces Base located within the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Co-located at the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, CFB Winnipeg is home to many flight operations support divisions, as well as several training schools...

October 1992

Rhodesia

Bulawayo

Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...

Rhodesian African Rifles
Rhodesian African Rifles
The Rhodesian African Rifles, or RAR, was the oldest regiment in the Rhodesian Army, dating from the formation of the 1st Rhodesian Native Regiment in 1916 during the First World War. This was followed by the creation of the Matabeleland Native Regiment, and the 2nd Rhodesian Native Regiment,...

September 5, 1964
Royal Rhodesia Regiment
Rhodesia Regiment
The Rhodesia Regiment was one of the oldest and largest regiments in the Rhodesian Army. It served on the side of Great Britain in the Second Boer War and the First and Second World Wars and served the Republic of Rhodesia in the anti-terrorist counter-insurgency war of the 1970s.During the First...

September 5, 1964

Salisbury

Harare

Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...

Rhodesian Light Infantry
Rhodesian Light Infantry
The 1st Battalion, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, commonly the Rhodesian Light Infantry , was a regiment formed in 1961 at Brady Barracks, Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia as a light infantry unit within the army of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland...

July 25, 1975

United Kingdom

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

Royal Regiment of Scotland

Bangor

Bangor, Gwynedd

Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...

The Royal Welsh
Royal Welsh
The Royal Welsh was formed on St David's Day, 1 March 2006. It is one of the new large infantry regiments of the British Army, and the regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry.-Formation:The...

Bath

21st Signal Regiment (Air Support)

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
Welsh Guards
Welsh Guards
The Welsh Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division.-Creation :The Welsh Guards came into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards, "..though the order...
Irish Guards
Irish Guards
The Irish Guards , part of the Guards Division, is a Foot Guards regiment of the British Army.Along with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish regiments remaining in the British Army. The Irish Guards recruit in Northern Ireland and the Irish neighbourhoods of major British cities...
The Royal British Legion

Bradford

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

The Yorkshire Regiment
Yorkshire Regiment
The Yorkshire Regiment is one of the largest infantry regiments of the British Army. The regiment is currently the only line infantry or rifles unit to represent a single geographical county in the new infantry structure, serving as the county regiment of Yorkshire covering the historical areas...

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

266 (Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

Volunteer Artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

) Battery, Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...

(Volunteers)
57 (City and County of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

) Squadron, Royal Corps of Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army...

(Volunteers)

Basildon

Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...

The Royal Anglian Regiment
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...

Canterbury

Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

The Royal Regiment of Scotland

Chester

1st Battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

The Royal Welsh
Royal Welsh
The Royal Welsh was formed on St David's Day, 1 March 2006. It is one of the new large infantry regiments of the British Army, and the regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry.-Formation:The...
HMS Albion
HMS Albion (L14)
HMS Albion is a Landing Platform Dock of the Royal Navy, the first of the two-ship Albion class. Built by BAE Systems Marine in Barrow-in-Furness, Albion was launched in March 2001 by the Princess Royal...

Crewe and Nantwich

Crewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It had a population of 111,007...

1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment
Mercian Regiment
The Mercian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of three existing regiments on 1 September 2007.The regiment has three regular army battalion's and one Territorial Army or reserve battalion...

(Cheshire)

Ely

Ely, Cambridgeshire

Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...

The Royal Anglian Regiment
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...

Epsom

Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...

The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
"PWRR" redirects here. For the railroad with these reporting marks, see Portland and Western Railroad.The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division...

Exeter

Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

The Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

The Highland Light Infantry

Gloucester

Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....

The Rifles
The Rifles
The Rifles is the largest regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light...

Gravesend

Gravesend may refer to:Places in the United Kingdom:*Gravesend, Kent*Gravesend, Hertfordshire, a hamlet of Albury, HertfordshirePlaces in the USA and Australia:*Gravesend, Brooklyn*Gravesend, New South WalesOther meanings...

The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment

Harlow

Harlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...

Essex Yeomanry
Essex Yeomanry
The Essex Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army raised in 1797. The regiment recruited volunteers from the county of Essex in the East of England.-Origins:...

Ipswich

Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...

The Royal Anglian Regiment
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...

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Islington

Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...

The Honourable Artillery Company
Honourable Artillery Company
The Honourable Artillery Company was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII. Today it is a Registered Charity whose purpose is to attend to the “better defence of the realm"...

Kingston upon Thames

Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...

The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment
256 (City of London) Field Hospital (Volunteers)

Knowsley

The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment

Lancaster

Lancaster, Lancashire

Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...

King's Own Royal Regiment

Leicester

Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...

9th/12th Royal Lancers
9th/12th Royal Lancers
The 9th/12th Royal Lancers is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1960 by the amalgamation of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and the 12th Royal Lancers. It is currently a formation reconnaissance regiment, equipped with the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance family of vehicles and...

Lisburn

DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...

The Royal Irish Regiment

Lincoln

The Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...

City of Liverpool

-Aircraft:* City of Liverpool , an Imperial Airways Armstrong Whitworth Argosy that crashed in 1933 in what is suspected to be the first ever occurrence of aerial sabotage-Locations:* Liverpool, a city in the north west of England...

The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment

City of London

The Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
The Honourable Artillery Company
Honourable Artillery Company
The Honourable Artillery Company was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII. Today it is a Registered Charity whose purpose is to attend to the “better defence of the realm"...
The Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on April 23, 1968, as part of the reforms of the army that saw the creation of the first 'large infantry regiments', by the amalgamation of the four English fusilier...
Parachute Regiment
600 (City of London) Squadron
No. 600 Squadron RAF
No. 600 Squadron RAuxAF is a squadron of the RAF Reserves. It was formed in 1925 and operated as a night fighter squadron during the Second World War with great distinction. After the war, 600 Squadron went on to operate jet fighters until 1957. Reactivated in 1999, 600 Squadron is the only RAF...

RAuxAF

Loughborough

Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...

The Royal Anglian Regiment
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

207 (Manchester) Field Hospital (Volunteers)
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...

Nottingham

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

73rd Engineer Regiment (Volunteers)
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
East Midlands Universities Air Squadron

Peterborough

Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...

158 (Royal Anglian) Transport Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps
Royal Logistic Corps
The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army, comprising around 17% of its strength...

(Volunteers)

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

Portsmouth Command
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Portsmouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the post.-History:...

of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
The Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

The Royal Naval Reserve
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
The Rifles

Preston

The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)
Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)
The Loyal Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army from 1881 to 1970...

August 7, 1952 (This was subsequently transferred to:)
- The Queen's Lancashire Regiment
  Queen's Lancashire Regiment
  The Queen's Lancashire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division...
  
  September 9, 1972
- The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment July 1, 2006

Ribble Valley

Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe. Other places include Whalley, Longridge and Ribchester. The area is so called due to the River Ribble which flows in its final stages...

Duke of Lancaster's Regiment

Ripon

Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...

The Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

St Edmundsbury

St Edmundsbury may refer to:* The old or poetic name for Bury St Edmunds* St Edmundsbury, a borough centred on the town of Bury St Edmunds* The Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, the Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and St James's Cathedral, St Edmundsbury...

, East Anglia

East Anglia

East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...

The 3 Regiment Army Air Corps (Wattisham
Wattisham
Wattisham is a civil parish near to the town of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England.-Wattisham Airfield:The village houses an airbase. Formerly known as RAF Wattisham, it was one of the front-line airbases in the Cold War. The RAF moved out in March 1993 and it is now the largest Army Air Corps airfield...

), June 22, 2010.

Salford

City of Salford

The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over...

Lancashire Fusiliers
Lancashire Fusiliers
The Lancashire Fusiliers was a British infantry regiment that was amalgamated with other Fusilier regiments in 1968 to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.- Formation and early history:...

Stockport

Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...

The Mercian Regiment
Mercian Regiment
The Mercian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of three existing regiments on 1 September 2007.The regiment has three regular army battalion's and one Territorial Army or reserve battalion...

Tameside

The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and spans the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge. Its western...

The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment

Telford

Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...

The Rifles
The Rifles
The Rifles is the largest regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light...
Tonbridge
Tonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...
The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
"PWRR" redirects here. For the railroad with these reporting marks, see Portland and Western Railroad.The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division...

Wakefield

Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....

The Yorkshire Regiment
Yorkshire Regiment
The Yorkshire Regiment is one of the largest infantry regiments of the British Army. The regiment is currently the only line infantry or rifles unit to represent a single geographical county in the new infantry structure, serving as the county regiment of Yorkshire covering the historical areas...
The Rifles
The Rifles
The Rifles is the largest regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light...

Winchester

Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...

Winchester Army Training Regiment

Worthing

Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...

the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
"PWRR" redirects here. For the railroad with these reporting marks, see Portland and Western Railroad.The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division...

York

The Royal Dragoon Guards
Royal Dragoon Guards
The Royal Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1992 by the amalgamation of two other regiments: The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards...

Australia

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

'Freedom of the City' or 'Key to the City' has been granted twice in recent history.

2001: Royal Military College Duntroon During that year's GMC 400
2006: April 1 Scout Association of Australia, ACT Branch in recognition of the branch's 25th Anniversary

Canada

Keys exist in Brampton, Burnaby, Mississauga, Toronto, Winnipeg, Windsor, and Vancouver. Winnipeg also offered honourary citizenship, while Calgary's ceremony is the White Hat Ceremony.

Colombia

Bogotá

Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

Key to the city:

March 30, 1994: Cheddi Jagan
Cheddi Jagan
Cheddi Berret Jagan was a Guyanese politician who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964, prior to independence. He later served as President of Guyana from 1992 to 1997.- Biography :The son of ethnic Indian sugar plantation workers, Jagan...

, President of Guyana.
March 8, 2000: Abderrahmane Youssoufi
Abderrahmane Youssoufi
Abderrahmane Youssoufi is a Moroccan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Morocco from 1998 to 2002.-Early life:...

, Prime Minister of Morocco.
April 24, 2000: David de Ferranti, World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

vicepresident.
July 12, 2000: Nicolás Léoz
Nicolás Léoz
Nicolás Leoz Almirón is the current President of CONMEBOL . Leoz assumed the presidency in 1986 and in February 2006 he was reelected as President for the sixth time...

, President of CONMEBOL
CONMEBOL
The South American Football Confederation , commonly known as CONMEBOL , is the continental governing body of association football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations...

.
April 5, 2001: Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican former politician who served as President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected...

, President of Mexico
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...

.
May 3, 2001: Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...

, President of Venezuela.
November 11, 2003: Ricardo Maduro
Ricardo Maduro
Ricardo Rodolfo Maduro Joest is a former President of Honduras and Bank of Honduras chairman. Maduro graduated from The Lawrenceville School and later Stanford University...

, President of Honduras
President of Honduras
This page lists the Presidents of Honduras.Colonial Honduras declared its independence from Spain on 15 September 1821. From 5 January 1822 to 1 July 1823, Honduras was part of the First Mexican Empire of Agustín de Iturbide....

.
December 2, 2003: Jorge Batlle Ibáñez
Jorge Batlle Ibáñez
Jorge Luis Batlle Ibáñez is a politician from Uruguay, a member of the Colorado Party. He served as the President of Uruguay from 2000 to 2005....

, President of Uruguay
President of Uruguay
The President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay is the head of state of Uruguay. His or her rights are determined in the Constitution of Uruguay. Conforms with the Secretariat of the Presidency, the Council of Ministers and the Director of the Office of Planning and Budget, the executive branch...

.
March 29, 2004: Chavela Vargas
Chavela Vargas
Isabel Vargas Lizano is a Costa Rican-born Mexican singer. She is especially known for her rendition of Mexican rancheras genre - a folkloric musical genre widely popular in Mexico - but she is also recognized for her contribution to other popular Latin American song genres...

, Mexican singer.
April 14, 2004: Alejandro Toledo
Alejandro Toledo
Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique is a politician who was President of Peru from 2001 to 2006. He was elected in April 2001, defeating former President Alan García...

, President of Peru.
July 21, 2004: Felipe González
Felipe González
Felipe González Márquez is a Spanish socialist politician. He was the General Secretary of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party from 1974 to 1997. To date, he remains the longest-serving Prime Minister of Spain, after having served four successive mandates from 1982 to 1996.-Early life:Felipe was...

, Prime Minister of Spain
Prime Minister of Spain
The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...

.
October 11, 2004: Didier Borotra
Didier Borotra
Didier Borotra is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. He is a member of the Centrist Union and of the MoDem.-References:*...

, Member of the Senate of France.
November 16, 2004: Óscar Berger
Óscar Berger
Óscar José Rafael Berger Perdomo, born on 11 August 1946 in Guatemala City, is a former President of Guatemala.-Early years:Of Belgian descent, Berger was born to an upper class family with large sugar and coffee holdings...

, President of Guatemala
President of Guatemala
The title of President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of Guatemala since 1839, when that title was assumed by Mariano Rivera Paz...

.
March 30, 2005: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . He was elected for two terms as Prime Minister of Spain, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. On 2 April 2011 he announced he will not stand for re-election in 2012...

, Prime Minister of Spain
Prime Minister of Spain
The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...

.
September 1, 2005: Ricardo Lagos
Ricardo Lagos
Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar is a lawyer, economist and social democrat politician, who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. He won the 1999-2000 presidential election by a narrow margin in a runoff over Independent Democrat Union candidate Joaquín Lavín...

, President of Chile
President of Chile
The President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...

.
November 2, 2005: Leonel Fernández
Leonel Fernández
Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna is a Dominican lawyer, academic, and the current President of the Dominican Republic since 2004. He held the same office from 1996 to 2000...

, President of the Dominican Republic.
December 13, 2005: Lula da Silva, President of Brazil
President of Brazil
The president of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces...

.
March 12, 2007: Horst Köhler
Horst Köhler
Horst Köhler is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He was President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the CDU and the CSU, and the liberal FDP, Köhler was elected to his first five-year term by the Federal Assembly on...

, President of Germany
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...

.
March 17, 2008: Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...

, Chancellor of Germany
Chancellor of Germany
The Chancellor of Germany is, under the German 1949 constitution, the head of government of Germany...

.
May 27, 2009: Felipe de Borbón, Prince of Asturias
Prince of Asturias
Prince of Asturias is the historical title given to the heir to the Spanish throne. It was also the title under the earlier Kingdom of Castile. The current Prince of Asturias is Felipe, son of King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Sofía...

.
August 13, 2009: Felipe Calderón
Felipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...

, President of Mexico
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...

.
August 15, 2009: Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...

, American actress and singer.
March 23, 2010: Oscar Arias
Óscar Arias
Óscar Arias Sánchez is a Costa Rican politician who was President of Costa Rica from 2006 to 2010. He previously served as President from 1986 to 1990 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end civil wars then raging in several other Central American countries.He is also a...

, President of Costa Rica.
July 9, 2010: Princess Haya of Jordan.

Republic of Ireland

Dublin, Ireland

United Kingdom

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, Scotland

Aberdeen has a long history of bestowing the honour. See Freedom of the City of Aberdeen

Freedom of the City of Aberdeen

Aberdeen's Freedom ceremony has its origins in the 12th Century. There have been 38 Freedom ceremonies in Aberdeen since the start of the 20th Century...

for details.

Bath, England

Amy Williams
Amy Williams
Amy Joy Williams MBE is an English skeleton racer and Olympic gold medallist. Originally a runner, she began training in skeleton after trying the sport on a push-start track at the University of Bath...

the first female to receive the honour in Bath.

Bradford

, England

J. B. Priestley
J. B. Priestley
John Boynton Priestley, OM , known as J. B. Priestley, was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster. He published 26 novels, notably The Good Companions , as well as numerous dramas such as An Inspector Calls...

was awarded the Freedom of Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

.
August 17, 2011: Bands of the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service and Bridgewater (Nova Scotia, Canada) Fire Department

Bury St Edmunds, England

Actor Ian McShane
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...

was given freedom of the borough in 1996 after he played the title role in the television series Lovejoy
Lovejoy
Lovejoy is a TV series about the adventures of Lovejoy, a British antiques dealer and faker based in East Anglia, a less than scrupulous yet likeable rogue. The episodes were based on a series of picaresque novels by John Grant...

, filmed in and around Bury.

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

, Wales

June 16, 1998: Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

, former South Africa President and anti-apartheid activist
April 10, 2006: Sir Tasker Watkins
Tasker Watkins
The Rt Hon Sir Tasker Watkins VC GBE PC was a Lord Justice of Appeal and deputy Lord Chief Justice...

, former president of the WRU
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...

and Glamorgan Wanderers
Glamorgan Wanderers
Glamorgan Wanderers are a Welsh rugby union club based in Ely, west Cardiff in Wales. The club is located just to the north of Western Cemetery. They currently play in the 1st Division East, having been relegated from the Principality premiership in the 2010-2011 season...

. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his efforts in the second world war.

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

, England

2003: former Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

football manager Brian Clough
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...

.

Douglas

Douglas, Isle of Man

right|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...

, Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

Musicians The Bee Gees given freedom of the city in June 2009.

Durham

Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

, England

December 8, 2008: Sir Bobby Robson received the Freedom of the City of Durham in honour of his services to football and charitable work. Robson was born in Sacriston, County Durham and went on to manage several successful football clubs across Europe including PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, FC Porto, FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

and Newcastle United.

Ipswich

Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...

, England

May 5, 2008: Sir Bobby Robson received the Freedom of the Borough of Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...

. Robson won the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

in 1978 with Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....

. Robson also went on to manage England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

.

Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...

, England

Recipients of Freedom of the City of Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...

include:
- 1999: Archbishop Desmond Tutu
  Desmond Tutu
  Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
  
  , when he was invited to give the annual Wilberforce Lecture in Kingston upon Hull, commemorating the life and achievements of the anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce
  William Wilberforce
  William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
  
  . Tutu used the occasion to praise the people of the city for their traditional support of freedom and for standing with the people of South Africa in their fight against apartheid.

Frome

Frome is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately south of Bath, east of the county town, Taunton and west of London. In the 2001...

, England

May 4, 2010: Formula One driver Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...

received the freedom of the town, following his victory in the 2009 World Drivers' Championship.

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, England

April 30, 2001: Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, England

Recipients of Freedom of the City of Liverpool include:
- April 30, 1970: Elizabeth Margaret Braddock, better known as Bessie Braddock
  Bessie Braddock
  Elizabeth Margaret Braddock JP , better known as Bessie Braddock, was a British Labour politician...
  
  , Liverpool-born British Labour
  Labour Party (UK)
  The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
  
  politician.
- November 23, 1983: Bob Paisley
  Bob Paisley
  Robert "Bob" Paisley OBE was an English football half back turned manager. His association with Liverpool was to span nearly half a century including his contribution to the club, first as a player, then as a physiotherapist and coach, and finally as manager.In nine years as manager between 1974...
  
  , best known for being one of the most successful managers in English football history whilst managing his only team Liverpool Football Club
  Liverpool F.C.
  Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
  
  in the 1970s and 1980s.
- March 7, 1984: George Harrison
  George Harrison
  George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
  
  , Liverpool-born rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, author and sitar
  Sitar
  The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
  
  ist best known as the lead guitarist of The Beatles
  The Beatles
  The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
  
  .
- March 7, 1984: John Lennon
  John Lennon
  John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
  
  , Liverpool-born songwriter, singer, musician, graphic artist
  Graphic designer
  A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
  
  , author and political activist
  Activism
  Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
  
  , one of the founders of The Beatles
  The Beatles
  The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
  
  . (Posthumous)
- March 7, 1984: Paul McCartney
  Paul McCartney
  Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
  
  , Liverpool-born songwriter, singer, musician, graphic artist
  Graphic designer
  A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
  
  , author and political activist
  Activism
  Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
  
  , one of the founders of The Beatles
  The Beatles
  The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
  
  .
- March 7, 1984: Ringo Starr
  Ringo Starr
  Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
  
  , real name Richard Starkey Jr
  Ringo Starr
  Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
  
  , Liverpool-born musician, singer, songwriter and actor, best known as the drummer of The Beatles
  The Beatles
  The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
  
  .
- July 6, 1994: Nelson Mandela
  Nelson Mandela
  Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
  
  , 11th President
  President of South Africa
  The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
  
  of South Africa.
- September 14, 2008: Duke of Lancaster's Regiment Soldiers returning from duty in Iraq and Afghanistan were awarded freedom of the city in recognition of their bravery and sacrifice.
- September 30, 2008: Sir Simon Rattle Conductor awarded Freedom of Liverpool. He was presented with the honour by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Steve Rotheram.
- April 15, 2009: Families of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster
  Hillsborough disaster
  The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
  
  were given this honour in a ceremony recognising the 20th anniversary of the event.
- August 28, 2003: New York City
  New York City
  New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
  
  Awarded the Freedom of The City of Liverpool.

London, England

Freedom of the City of London awarded to Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...

.
1995: Freedom of the City of London granted to Norman Wisdom
Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was an English actor, comedian and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character Norman Pitkin...

.
2005: Freedom of the City of London granted to Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...

.
2008: Freedom of the City of London granted to Otto von Habsburg
Otto von Habsburg
Otto von Habsburg , also known by his royal name as Archduke Otto of Austria, was the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918, a realm which comprised modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,...

.
2010: Freedom of the City of London granted to Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor
Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....

Manchester

, England

October 6, 1899: Mrs Enriqueta Augustina Rylands
Enriqueta Augustina Rylands
Enriqueta Augustina Rylands was the founder of the John Rylands Library, Manchester.Born in Havana, Cuba, she was one of five children including José Esteban , Blanca Catalina and Leocadia Fernanda...
June 15, 1906: Businessman and Liberal Member of Parliament Sir William John Crossley
Crossley Baronets
There have been two Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Crossley, both in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom.The Crossley Baronetcy, of Belle Vue and Somerleyton, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 23 January 1863...

was presented with a key on June 15, in honour of the Stamford Park County School. He was made a baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

later the same year. He, with his brother Francis, founded the pioneering locomotive company Crossley
Crossley
Crossley, based in Manchester, United Kingdom, was a pioneering company in the production of internal combustion engines. Since 1988 it has been part of the Rolls-Royce Power Engineering group.More than 100,000 Crossley oil and gas engines have been built....

and the (now defunct) car manufacturer Crossley Motors
Crossley Motors
Crossley Motors was a British motor vehicle manufacturer based in Manchester, England. They produced approximately 19,000 high quality cars from 1904 until 1938, 5,500 buses from 1926 until 1958 and 21,000 goods and military vehicles from 1914 to 1945.Crossley Brothers, originally...

and was a Director of the Manchester Ship Canal.
1907: James W. Southern, another director of the Manchester Ship Canal, was presented with the Freedom of the City in the form of a silver casket and scroll.
1974: Nellie Beer
October 31, 1977: Astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell was presented with the Freedom of the City in the form of a simple salver.
1984: Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw
Kathleen Ollerenshaw
Dame Kathleen Mary Ollerenshaw, née Timpson, DBE is a British mathematician and politician. Deaf since the age of eight, she loved doing arithmetic problems as a child. As a young woman, she attended St Leonards School and Sixth Form College in St Andrews, Scotland where today the house of young...
March 2, 2009: Sir Bobby Charlton was awarded the Freedom for promoting the city of Manchester.
November 2, 2009: UK Olympic Cycling Team in recognition of their achievements

Norwich

Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...

2011 Paul Lambert
Paul Lambert
Paul Christopher Lambert is a Scottish football manager and former player who is the manager of Norwich City. He won numerous trophies as a player, winning the Scottish Cup with St...

, manager of Norwich City FC
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...

, after steering the club to two back-to-back promotions from League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

to the Premier League.

Nottingham

1920 Jesse Boot, founder of Boots the Chemist

Plymouth

March 22, 2009: The Merchant Navy
Merchant Navy
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency...

Preston, England

1997: Nick Park
Nick Park
Nicholas Wulstan "Nick" Park, CBE is an English filmmaker of stop motion animation best known as the creator of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep....

was awarded the Freedom of Preston for his Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit
Wallace and Gromit
Wallace and Gromit are the main characters in a series consisting of four British animated short films and a feature-length film by Nick Park of Aardman Animations...

films.
2005: Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...

was awarded the Freedom of Preston for his contribution in the Ashes Series
2005 Ashes series
The 2005 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing and storied cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 21 July 2005, England and Australia played five Tests, with the Ashes held by Australia as the most recent victors...

.

Portsmouth

, England

October 28, 2008: Former Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

manager Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....

was made a freeman of the city for his achievements in leading Portsmouth to the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

in 2007-8. Ironically he had left Portsmouth for Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

2 days earlier and he was booed by fans at the presentation.

Romsey

Romsey is a small market town in the county of Hampshire, England.It is 8 miles northwest of Southampton and 11 miles southwest of Winchester, neighbouring the village of North Baddesley...

, England

July 14, 2009: Soldiers from the 1st Battalion (Armored Tigers) of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
"PWRR" redirects here. For the railroad with these reporting marks, see Portland and Western Railroad.The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division...

were given the Freedom of Romsey for their service in Iraq and Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...

. The ceremony followed a parade held to welcome the unit home. Technically, the PWRR already had the Freedom of Romsey, as it inherited it from the Royal Hampshire Regiment
Royal Hampshire Regiment
The Royal Hampshire Regiment was a British Army line infantry regiment from 1881 to 1992. Its lineage is continued today by the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.-Formation and antecedents:...

as a result of the 1992 Options for Change
Options for Change
Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in 1990, aimed at cutting defence spending following the end of the Cold War....

merger with the Queen's Regiment.

Salford

City of Salford

, England

January 7, 2010: Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs was awarded freedom of the city for "exceptional contributions to the city".

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

, England

2005: Winning Captain Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan OBE is a retired cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England. A classically elegant right-handed batsman and occasional off-spinner, Vaughan was ranked one of the best batsmen in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes, in which he scored 633 runs, including three centuries...

was awarded Freedom of the City for his contribution in the Ashes Series
2005 Ashes series
The 2005 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing and storied cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 21 July 2005, England and Australia played five Tests, with the Ashes held by Australia as the most recent victors...

.
March 8, 2006: Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi, AC is a Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% of the seats in Parliament. She had, however, already been detained...

, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...

was granted martial Freedom of the City, ironically, in recognition of her non-violent work against the military dictatorship in Burma.

Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica

This award is given by the Kingston and St. Andrew Cooperation (KSAC) in collaboration with the Mayor of Kingston and St. Andrew. It is given to outstanding individuals, who did or continue to make a mark in the city of Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...

. This person or group must meet certain criteria, and display outstanding ability and commitment to building the city and nation. This award is the highest award given by a city/parish.
- April 23, 2006: Bishop, Hon. Dr. Carmen L. Stewart, OD, JP, Custos Rotorulum of St. Andrew, Jamaica.

Japan

Tokyo

Recipients of the Key to the Metropolis of Tokyo include:
- Helen Keller
  Helen Keller
  Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
- Dr. Leon Picon, one of the founding members of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations and a former Secretary-General.
- Paul E. Ruestow, U.S. Major General
- Bill Effinger, former Mayor of Buena Park, California
  Buena Park, California
  Buena Park is a city in northwestern Orange County, California. As of Census 2010 the population was 80,530. The city is adjacent to the city of Anaheim and is 12 miles northwest of downtown Santa Ana. The Current OMB metropolitan designation for Buena Park and the Orange County Area is "Santa...
  
  , 1959.
- John Glenn
  John Glenn
  John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...
  
  , presented by Tokyo Gov. Rotaro Azuma on May 30, 1963.
- Francis Sumner Carruth, Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force. His management skills played an important role in heading off a labor strike in Tokyo.
- Dr. Albert M. Schwartz, a vascular surgeon and a Colonel in the US Army.

Puerto Rico

1984: Wilfred Benitez
Wilfred Benitez
Wilfred Benítez , is a Puerto Rican boxer. He is remembered best as a skilled and aggressive fighter with exceptional defensive abilities who won world championships in three separate weight divisions, and was the youngest world champion in boxing history at the age of 17...

, the three time world boxing champion, received the keys to the city of Carolina
Carolina, Puerto Rico
Carolina is a city located in the northern part of Puerto Rico, bordering the Atlantic Ocean; it lies north of Gurabo and Juncos; east of Trujillo Alto and San Juan; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over 12 wards plus Carolina Pueblo...

, after his victory over Stacy McSwain.

United States

Viscount Cornbury

Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon

Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon , styled Viscount Cornbury between 1674 and 1709, was Governor of New York and New Jersey between 1701 and 1708, and is perhaps best known for the claims of his cross-dressing while in office.-Career:Born The Hon...

received a "Freedom of the City" for New York in 1702, and in 1871, Chicago handed out its earliest known Freedom, to Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia

Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia

Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia was the sixth child and the fourth son of Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Maria Alexandrovna . Destined to a naval career, Alexei Alexandrovich started his military training at the age of 7...

.

Among the more unusual recipients are Iraqi President Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

(Detroit, 1980), Sam Born

Sam Born

Sam Born was a Russian-born American businessman, candy-maker and inventor. In 1910 he came from Russia to the United States. In 1916, Sam Born was awarded the "key to the city" of San Francisco for inventing a machine that mechanically inserted sticks into lollipops...

, for inventing a machine that mechanically inserted sticks into lollipop

Lollipop

A lollipop, pop, lolly, sucker, or sticky-pop is a type of confectionery consisting mainly of hardened, flavored sucrose with corn syrup mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. They are available in many flavors and shapes.- Types :Lollipops are available in a number of colors and...

s (San Francisco, 1916), and "Scarlett's Magic" (Corona, 2010), a cat listed in the 2011 Guinness Book of World Records as World's Tallest Cat.

External links

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