A service and parade at Tenby will honour the Belgian Armed Forces members stationed in and near the town during the Second World War.

On Sunday, September 24, there will be a service of commemoration for the members of the Belgian Armed Forces that were based in and around Tenby during World War II and their descendants.

The Lord Lieutenant of Dyfed, Ms Sara Edwards will be in attendance and the Belgian delegation will be headed up by Lt. Gen. Marc Thys, who was, until recently, the Belgian Vice Chief of Defence.

The service will honour those Belgian personnel that escaped mainland Europe in 1940 and afterwards.

The Belgian military headquarters was located in Tenby at the Atlantic Hotel, with troops being billeted in the town, surrounding villages and at Penally Camp.

The commemoration will revive the memory of the warm welcome given by Tenby to the Belgian Armed Forces after the disastrous campaign to try and stem the Nazi Blitzkrieg in mainland Europe. Tenby has a very important place in the national history of the Kingdom of Belgium, with the re-formation of the Belgian Armed Forces taking place in the town in 1940.

The bulk of these forces later became the Brigade Piron which was attached, in August 1944, to the 6th UK Division and subsequently engaged in the Liberation of Brussels.

Tenby will also recognise the intrepid Belgians who chose to serve in the wartime Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, Commando Forces and other special forces.

The service will take place at St Mary’s Church, Tenby and at the nearby War Memorial, where a commemorative plaque will be unveiled, and wreaths laid.

Tenby Town Council have lots of Belgian waving flags so that people can line the route of the parade from St Mary’s to the War Memorial.