A SPECIAL flag raising ceremony will be held at Cotswold District Council's (CDC) headquarters in Cirencester on Monday at 10am to mark this year's Armed Forces Day.

This will be followed by a similar event at the Moreton Area Centre, CDC's other office, at midday on the same day.

At both venues the public will be given the opportunity to show their support for the work of the army, navy and RAF. CDC vice chairman Cllr Julian Beale will raise the flag at Cirencester and CDC chairman Cllr Mark Annett will do the same at Moreton. Each ceremony will also be attended by local representatives of the armed forces, and senior officials from the council.

Since its introduction in 2009, Armed Forces Day has gathered ground. This is the third year running that the council has staged a ceremony at Moreton as well as Cirencester. Both ceremonies reportedly went very well last year with a good number of people turning up at both venues to pay their respects to past and present service personnel who have helped to make the country safe.