Royal Navy Warship Awarded Wrexham’s Freedom, Joining Notables

A Royal Navy warship has been granted the freedom of Wrexham, an honor that places it alongside Hollywood celebrity football club owners and a former prime minister. HMS Dragon is the first Navy vessel to receive the city’s highest distinction since World War Two. This recognition will be marked by various events, including a parade scheduled for next year. As one of the Navy’s six air defence destroyers, it has recently been deployed to the Middle East, where it successfully seized drugs valued at £200 million in what was described as a “record-breaking” operation. Among those previously granted Wrexham’s freedom are Wrexham FC owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, World War One Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and the Royal Welsh, recognized as Wales’ oldest Army regiment. Freedom of the city is a centuries-old custom, now largely a ceremonial title, bestowed by local governments to acknowledge those who have demonstrated outstanding service or achievement benefiting a specific area. HMS Dragon, which recently underwent a refit and is currently at sea, established its affiliation with the city in April. Councillor Beverley Parry-Jones commented that this affiliation represented an honor for the council. “All major Royal Navy ships have affiliations as part of a longstanding custom that binds their crew to the land,” she stated, adding that the county is “proud of our history supporting and commemorating our armed forces”. Commander Iain Giffin, HMS Dragon’s commanding officer, participated in the council meeting via video link to accept the award, remarking that the ship’s welcome had “exceeded expectations”. He noted that another Royal Navy ship, HMS Prince of Wales, recently received the freedom of Liverpool and subsequently conducted a large parade and events throughout that city. “We very much look forward to conducting similar events in late spring or early summer,” he said, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. During World War Two, Wrexham adopted three ships, including the W Class destroyer HMS Veteran, which was sunk by a German torpedo in the North Atlantic in 1942. HMS Dragon, which operates with a crew of more than 200, commenced its inaugural deployment from Portsmouth in 2013.