Four cadet units in Reigate, Redhill and Banstead get the borough's highest honour at Priory Park on Sunday 11 October, 1pm to 2pm. The public can go.
Four cadet units that meet in Reigate, Redhill and Banstead are to be given the Freedom of the Borough, the highest civic honour Reigate and Banstead Borough Council can award. The presentation takes place in Priory Park, Reigate, on Sunday 11 October from 1pm to 2pm, and the public is invited.
The council announced the award today. Councillors approved it at a meeting of full council on 22 July.
The four units
- Reigate Sea Cadets, Reigate Unit No. 281, T.S. Ark Royal
- Banstead Army Cadet Force, Anzio Company, The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment
- Redhill Army Cadet Force, Anzio Company, The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment
- RAF Air Cadets, 135 (Reigate and Redhill) Squadron, Surrey Wing
The Mayor, Cllr Nick Harrison, said cadets were “part and parcel of our community”. He pointed to their part in “building community cohesion, supporting youth resilience, and promoting civic pride through public engagements at events such as Remembrance Sunday”.
A representative for the units said they were “very pleased and honoured”, and that the recognition “will spur everyone involved to even do more”.
Why 11 October
The ceremony closes the first ever National Cadets Week, which runs from 5 to 11 October. The government announced the week in May. It says cadet units across the UK will open their doors to schools, families and local communities during it.
The same announcement repeats the Ministry of Defence’s “30 by 30” aim, launched in August 2025, to grow the cadet forces by 30% by 2030.
Who the units are
The two units with their own websites publish the details below.
- 135 Squadron takes its number and its motto, “Pennas ubique monstramus” (We show our wings everywhere), from 135 Squadron RAF, formed in 1918. The air cadet squadron itself formed in the early 1940s, according to its own site, and takes cadets from age 13. It parades on Tuesday and Friday evenings at the Army Reserve Centre, Linkfield House, on Batts Hill in Redhill.
- Reigate Sea Cadets is a registered charity, Reigate Unit 281 of the Sea Cadet Corps. It meets at 2 Hooley Lane, Redhill: sea cadets aged 12 to 18 on Tuesday and Friday evenings, and junior cadets aged 9 to 12 on Tuesdays.
What the honour means
Freedom of the Borough carries no rights today. The council’s release explains that before 1835 freemen had real privileges, such as grazing livestock on common land and exemption from some tolls. The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 began cutting those back. The title is now purely honorary.
In practice, for a uniformed unit it is a public thank you from the town, usually marked with a parade.
What it means for you
- When: Sunday 11 October, 1pm to 2pm
- Where: Priory Park, Reigate
- Cost: free, and the council says members of the public are encouraged to attend
If your child is interested in joining, National Cadets Week is the natural time to ask. Each unit’s contact details are on the pages linked above. Remembrance Sunday, which the Mayor named in his tribute, falls on 8 November this year. Our Reigate Remembrance Sunday page will carry the 2026 arrangements once the council confirms them.
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