Thousands to salute homecoming heroes

THOUSANDS of people are expected to line the Royal Mile tomorrow to welcome Edinburgh's troops home from Afghanistan.

About 500 soldiers will take part in the parade, drawn from 3rd Battalion The Rifles (3 Rifles) and B Company of The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (B Coy 1 Scots).

The event has been organised so the troops from Redford and Dreghorn Barracks can thank city residents for their support during their gruelling six-month tour of duty. The last of the battle group returned from Helmand Province last week at the end of a deployment in which 30 soldiers were killed, including 16 based in Edinburgh.

Many of their families will attend, taking a salute from the marchers at Holyrood Palace.

They will be joined by soldiers who were wounded in action and are not well enough to march. Princess Alexandra, who is the Rifles' Royal Colonel, will also take a salute from troops as they pass the City Chambers.

An army spokeswoman said: "Both B Company 1 Scots and 3 Rifles have had a really challenging and tough tour, and they've been buoyed up by the support of the community, so they felt that they wanted to do this parade to thank everybody in the city of Edinburgh, which is their adopted home, for that support. We'd like as many people as possible to come out and receive that thank-you from them."

The troops will be on Johnston Terrace ready to step off at 10:30am, accompanied by the Band and Bugles of The Rifles and the Royal Scots Regimental Association Pipes and Drums.

The official parade will be preceded by a procession of more than 200 Harley-Davidson riders at 9:30am.

Former paratrooper Gordon McLuskie, regional representative of the Harley-Davidson Riders Club of Great Britain, said: "A lot of bikers are ex-military and obviously they've got a lot of feelings about it, so everybody's quite proud to be asked to take part. I feel highly honoured that the 3 Rifles have asked me to fly their regimental flag."

After the parade, the troops will go to Redford Barracks, where they will be awarded Operational Service Medals for Afghanistan by Princess Alexandra and senior officers.

The families of those who died during the campaign are being supported through the weekend by The Mark Wright Project charity.

The parade marks the second day of homecoming events. This morning, troops were due to march from Redford Barracks to Colinton Church for a memorial service, before a memorial to those who died during this and previous tours was dedicated by the battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Kitson.