Medway’s troops will officially receive the freedom of the Towns next weekend.

The Corps of the Royal Engineers will mark the occasion with a parade starting at 11am on Saturday.

The sappers will march down Khartoum Road and Dock Road, Chatham and past the new council offices in Gun Wharf where civic dignitaries will take the salute. They will return to Brompton Barracks via Wood Street.

The Freedom is the highest tribute a council can bestow upon a military unit. Although, in modern times it is an honour only and confers no legal rights, Honorary Freemen are invariably invited to take part in all important Borough ceremonial occasions.

Brigadier AD Harking (OBE), Commandant Royal School of Military Engineering, said: “It is a tremendous honour to have the freedom of Medway conferred upon the Corps and demonstrates the longstanding part it has played in the area’s rich history.

“For more than 200 years the Army has maintained a strong presence in Medway, considered by Engineers as their spiritual home, and Saturday’s parade reflects our place within the community, which we hope may continue long into the future.”