THERE may many people for whom marching through Oxford’s bustling centre would not be a great honour.

Battling through tourists, darting around cars and buses, wrapped up in your day-today life, is not the most attractive prospect.

When you are awarded Freedom of the City, that’s when things change.

For the 7th Battalion The Rifles, traffic stopped, crowds gathered and the people of Oxford looked on with pride.

And rightly so for the 120 men of A Company, as well as cadets and the regimental association, all of whom should fill this city with pride.

The Rifles have a long relationship with Oxford and the county, with their roots heading back as far as the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.

Awarding them the Freedom of the City, which gives them permission to march through Oxford’s streets, is an honour that is well deserved.

The personnel who have gone through The Rifles’ and their predecessors’ ranks have served their county, and Oxfordshire, valiantly.

The Freedom of the City has been earned by them ensuring we have the freedoms we so often take for granted.