00:00It's a pleasure to be here at Leeds City Centre for the Leeds Armed Forces Day.
00:04I'm a veteran myself, so I've taken part in this year's parade.
00:08It's a buzzing atmosphere. It's family-orientated, so all the family are coming out in Leeds.
00:13So it's a fantastic effort by Leeds City Council, by all the stallholders, by all the charities,
00:19and it's very important to mark our respects in any way we can to remember and celebrate Armed Forces Day.
00:28I think by showing young people that service is an honour and obviously it's respected,
00:34we're going to encourage more people to potentially take that career in, which is what we do need anyway.
00:38But as for today itself, the crowds have been brilliant. It was a fantastic match.
00:43And like you say, the people are still here, smiling, laughing.
00:46There seems to be a really positive buzz around the place about it.
00:49And that, as a veteran, makes me feel that, you know what, we're mad to our community.
00:53And I can't tell you how grateful I am about feeling that.
00:56It gives people the opportunity to remember the service that people have given to the country,
01:04as well as, as Simon says, a platform for people who might want a career in the Armed Forces.
01:11But one of the things today that's really important is to remember people like Simon,
01:16who have served their country and have been injured and returned home and need our help and support.
01:22And this is an opportunity, aside from remembering Sunday, to remember the commitment they have given to us.
01:29Because without that, this country wouldn't be as safe as it is.
01:33And it is vitally important that we remember that, particularly in these more difficult times on the international stage.
01:40John Freeborn was a fighter pilot during World War II, who was brought up in Leeds.
01:47He lived on Broomfield Crescent in Headingley, and that's actually where the blue plaque will be installed, ultimately.
01:53But, you know, he was a very young man when he joined the war at the age of 21, became
01:57wing commander at the age of 23.
01:59But the reason we're really celebrating him is because of his achievements in World War II.
02:04He flew more hours than any other man in the Battle of Britain.
02:09In terms of his ability to fire at other planes and his accuracy, he was double the average.
02:16So that was why, ultimately, he was thrusted with so many flight hours, and that was why he shot down
02:22so many planes.
02:22The guy who nominated the plaque, Adrian, was someone who he knew in later life, actually.
02:29When he was, I think, a neighbour, he actually cared for him in his later life.
02:33And so he presumably told him about his stories of what he did during the World War II, and that
02:39was why the nomination came in.
02:42We felt that a day like today, Armed Forces Day, was the obvious occasion to unveil this particular plaque.
02:48And so it's delightful that we're here today.
02:49Well done to Leet. Well done to people like Simon, the veterans and their families, who sometimes have difficult times
02:56as well.
02:56And long may these events continue.
