Somerset Council will be reaffirming its commitment to the Armed Forces by signing the Armed Forces Covenant at a service and ceremony on Monday 19 June, the start of Armed Forces Week.

Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Liz Leyshon, and National Hydrographer Rear Admiral Rhett Hatcher, will sign the Covenant when civic dignitaries and Armed Forces representatives gather at County Hall in Taunton to pay tribute to the Armed Forces.

Somerset Council came into being in April this year, replacing Somerset County Council and the four district councils – Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, and South Somerset, which had been Armed Forces Covenant signatories since 2012.

Monday’s ceremony will reinforce that commitment to uphold the Covenant that enshrines these pledges:

• Encouraging local communities to support their local armed forces community and vice versa.
• Promoting public understanding and awareness of issues that affect the armed forces community.
• Recognising and remembering the sacrifices made by the armed forces community.
• Encouraging activities that help to integrate the armed forces community into local life.

“As a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant, Somerset Council recognises the debt that we owe to our Armed Forces past and present, and their families,” said Cllr Leyshon. “The signing underlines that commitment as we go forward as a single council for Somerset.”

The signing will follow the official raising of the Armed Forces Day flag by WO1 RSM Duncan Maddocks. The service will be hosted at County Hall in Taunton by the Chair of Somerset Council, Cllr Mike Best, and the Mayor of Taunton, Cllr Nick O’Donnell.

The Armed Forces Day flag will be flown at all Somerset Council’s main offices leading up to National Armed Forces Day on Saturday, 24 June.

More information on the Covenant can be found here