Soldiers paraded through the city of Chester for the final time before they relocate to Cyprus later this year.

The Mercian Regiment Freedom Parade on Saturday was an opportunity for Chester to say farewell to the 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment Battalion, which has been based at the Dale Barracks since 2014.

The historic parade saw the Mercian Regiment exercise their Freedom of the City, granted by Chester City Council in 2008.

During the past 12 months 2 Mercian have deployed personnel on a number of overseas operations. These include the United Nations peacekeeping mission to South Sudan, protection duties in The Falkland Islands, and Iraq where soldiers delivered training to thousands of Iraqi and Kurdish personnel.

The parade commemorate the homecoming of the battalion from these operational tours with a service of Thanksgiving in Chester Cathedral.

Commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Ben Wilde said: “During the latter half of 2017 the Battalion deployed on three operational tours in very different environments. Our focus now is on the impending move to Cyprus in the summer and preparing to undertake an operational role in the Mediterranean.”

It is expected that from late 2018 Dale Barracks will become home to the 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, currently based in Cyprus.

Saturday’s march also marked the anniversary of the Battle of Meeanee, a famous victory won by the Mercian regiment’s forebears in 1843.