Her Majesty’s Ship Dragon is to be given the Freedom of the City of Cardiff in a ceremony at City Hall. The keys to the city will be handed to Cardiff’s affiliated warship at 11am on May 18 with music from the Royal Marines Band from 10.45am. The ceremony will be followed by a Freedom Parade through the city.
Since 1886 only 62 people and 9 organisations have been awarded the honour which is only bestowed on ‘persons of distinction’ and persons who, in the opinion of the Council, rendered eminent services to the City of Cardiff.
The Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Derrick Morgan, said: “It is an honour to bestow the Freedom of the City of Cardiff to HMS Dragon and to welcome the warship and her crew to the Capital. HMS Dragon, the Royal Navy’s newest warship, is proudly affiliated to Cardiff and has developed strong links with the city. What a wonderful celebration it is for the city of Cardiff to welcome the ship back to our shores.”
HMS Dragon, a T45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyer is tasked with shielding the Royal Navy’s fleet from a range of different airborne threats such as aircraft, drones and supersonic sea skimming anti-ship missiles. The destroyer is packed with technology such as the Sea Viper air-defence system which is capable of controlling and co-ordinating several missiles in the air at once, allowing it to intercept multiple targets at the same time. The system utilizes SAMPSON multi-function air tracking radar which is capable of tracking objects as small as a cricket ball, travelling at three times the speed of sound.
City Council Leader, Cllr Phil Bale, said: “Granting HMS Dragon the Freedom of the City is a fitting tribute to the dignity and bravery with which the ship and its crew serve our interests. The men and women of HMS Dragon are a true credit to the city.”
The destroyer is staffed by 190 men and women, headed by Captain Rex Cox.
Captain Cox, said:
“It is a real honour for HMS Dragon to be awarded the Freedom of the City of Cardiff. I know all of the Ship’s Company are especially proud of our links to the city and to Wales.
“Moments like these are very important in the life of a ship. Our friendships and affiliations with organisations across the country, in particular Wales, give a ship an unbreakable link to our society and as sailors come and go, these links will outlast us all and become a part of HMS Dragon’s history.
“The Ship’s excellent relationship with Cardiff is made stronger by this great honour and I have no doubt it will endure for years to come.”
HMS Dragon started her maiden seven month deployment to the Persian Gulf on March 19, 2013. During this deployment, Dragon carried out maritime security, boarding operations and multi national tasking with allies. During the final weeks of the deployment Dragon was redirected to the troubles in the Eastern Mediterranean off Syria where she spent an additional month providing air defence to the national interests and helped to retain peace in the area. After a successful deployment the ship and its crew returned home on 22nd November 2013.
