Red Arrows to fly over Scarborough today, on what would have been the national Armed Forces Day celebration in Scarborough

On a day when Scarborough should have been hosting the Armed Forces Day National Event if the coronavirus pandemic hadn’t occurred, the distinctive Hawk fast-jets will fly over the coast as the Armed Forces Day flag is flown proudly at a short ceremonial service at Scarborough Castle.

The service will be attended by a small number of personnel from all three Armed Forces and senior representatives from Scarborough Borough Council.

English Heritage is proud to host the special service in advance of Scarborough Castle reopening to the public on Saturday 4 July.

The service will be recorded and then shown online at 1pm at scarborougharmedforcesday.co.uk. People should log on to see whether the team manages to capture the Red Arrows fly-past on camera too.

Cllr Tony Randerson, Scarborough Borough Council cabinet member with responsibility for the Armed Forces Day National Event in Scarborough, which will now take place in June 2021, said:

“Today’s flypast is a wonderful surprise and I would like to thank the RAF for arranging to include the Yorkshire coast in the route. The Red Arrows’ fitting tribute to our Armed Forces marks the end of a week where we’ve celebrated their invaluable contribution to our nation virtually, with a wide range of online content from veterans, serving Armed Forces personnel and local children, groups and organisations.

“I would also like to thank English Heritage staff at Scarborough Castle for hosting the flag raising ceremony, which gives us the opportunity, albeit in a much smaller way, to formally salute our Armed Forces.

“We look forward to next year when we will be able to come together physically for the national celebration. Planning is already underway for a spectacular occasion to make Scarborough, our county and our country, very proud.”