After more than 80 years, an RAF base is to be presented with an Illuminated Address, which effectively bestows upon it the freedom of the town by its closest community.

Since 1940 when RAF Leeming was formed there has been a close connection with Bedale. Now the town council has bestowed an Illuminated Address on the base to cement the relationship between the two. To mark the event, RAF personnel will march through the town on Friday, August 5.

The parade will start about 10.45am from near St Cuthbert’s Church opposite Bedale Hall. All parking has been suspended in the town from 8pm on Thursday, August 4 until noon on August 5 and residents are being warned that parking and loading is being suspended throughout the market place.

A spokesperson for RAF Leeming said: “This is a special presentation from the town of Bedale to RAF Leeming and it is an absolute honour. We are part of the community and they are part of us, we have a great relationship with Bedale which is our nearest town and this marks that connection.”

Mayor of Bedale Councillor Amanda Coates said: "It is an absolute pleasure to be presenting Royal Air Force Leeming with the Illuminated Address, giving them the freedom of Bedale. We have always had close links and this is to show our appreciation of all that is achieved together."

The Illuminated Address was presented to Station Commander Group Captain Gareth Prendergast, who took command at RAF Leeming in November. RAF Leeming, which now has about 1,800 personnel, was originally built in 1938 as a bomber base, with the first sortie conducted in a Whitley bomber in July 1940. The station was handed over to Number 6 Group in 1942 and commanded by the Royal Canadian Air Force for the remainder of the Second World War. At the end of hostilities, Leeming became a Night Fighter Operational Conversion Unit equipped with the Mosquito before moving into the jet age with the Meteor and the Javelin.

Between 1984 and 1988 the station underwent a £148m reconstruction based around the new F2 Air Defence Tornado, with the last Tornado squadron disbanding in 2008. The station is now home to a diverse range of squadrons and lodger units including 90 Signals Unit, formerly based at RAF Brize Norton, and a Mountain Rescue Team.

With such a broad range of and close proximity to training areas at Spadeadam, Otterburn and Catterick, RAF Leeming is the preferred site for deployed exercises and detachments from UK and overseas units. A new Joint Hawk Squadron was unveiled during a Reformation Event at RAF Leeming in November last year.