Wisbech Town Council grants top honour
Wisbech Town Council has honoured a couple and an organisation both of whom help support the Armed Services by granting them the Freedom of the Town at a special meeting last night (Monday).
Jan and Ray Hutchinson were given the honour for their fantastic work over many years in organising and running the Wisbech Armed Forces Day.
Also receiving the honour was Toby North, chair of Wisbech Branch of the Royal British Legion, who accepted the scroll on behalf of the organisation, again for all the work carried out in support of our Armed Forces.
A spokesperson for the council said: “It is wonderful to see such hard work and dedication to our town rewarded with the highest honour we are able to bestow.”
The Freedom of Wisbech has only been granted a limited number of times.
Previous recipients include former local MP Malcolm Moss, Paralympian Jody Cundy, the Royal Anglian Regiment, Richard Barnwell, oarsman James Crowden, who in 1951 was part of the winning team in the Cambridge/Oxford Boat Race, three D-Day Landings heroes: Gerald Fleming, John McIntosh and Ronald Sanderson, Wisbech in Bloom, the Vivien Fire Engine Trust, and the army cadets.
The awarding of the Freedom of the Town dates back to the medieval practice of granting respected citizens freedom from serfdom.
In today’s modern world, the title of “freeman” confers no special privileges but is the highest honour the council can bestow upon a valued member of the community, a visiting celebrity, or dignitary.
