Armed Forces day at Pontefract Racecourse this weekend

Wakefield Council is marking the contribution of the Armed Forces with a day of activities this Sunday, July 3 from 10am until 4pm.

The celebrations will include a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Flypast from the Lancaster Bomber, and a free fall parachute display by The Wings Parachute Display Team.

The event will be attended by members from HMS Agamemnon – the Royal Navy’s next submarine that has been twinned with Wakefield.

There will also be a veterans parade this year to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Falklands war at 10.30am.

The parade will be led by Ben Parkinson MBE, the paratrooper who lost both legs in combat in Afghanistan and carried the Olympic flame at the 2012 London Olympics.

Local Armed Forces groups, emergency services, veterans groups and community groups will be holding stalls and demonstrations at the event, alongside a 40-stand craft market.

Entertainment will include local dance groups, children’s rides and activities.