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Lympstone’s Commandos celebrate their “unique bond” with Exeter
24 June 2025
The heart of Devon’s county town was brought to a standstill on the hottest day of the year by 150 Royal Marines Commandos and recruits.
Personnel from the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines marched through the centre of Exeter – the city’s contribution to celebrating its connection with the military as part of Armed Forces Day events… which is staged one week earlier than in the rest of the UK.
Civic leaders invited commandos from the base, just half a dozen miles from the city centre, to exercise their right of Freedom of Exeter.
A combination of serving Royal Marines and two troops of recruits who are undergoing the rigorous training to earn the coveted green beret marched through the city centre, supported by the Royal Marines Band Plymouth, various veterans’ groups and cadets marching with the Barnstaple Youth Band.
A ‘Military Village’ was set up on the Cathedral Green, run by 6th Battalion of the Rifles, showcasing many of the military units across Devon.
“It was a real privilege for Commando Training Centre Royal Marines to march through the City on Exeter Armed Forces Day 2025, a day that celebrates the unique bond between the city and the Royal Marines family who work and live in the community,” said the establishment’s Commandant Colonel Innes Catton RM.
“CTCRM has maintained a close connection with Exeter, which has flourished since 1977 when the Royal Marines were given the Freedom of the City.”
Armed Forces Day is a great way for the people of the city to come out and thank all the military units with a proud affiliation to the city and everything they do to keep this country safe.
The base traces its history back to 1940 as RM Depot Exton. It took the name Lympstone towards the end of WW2, became the Corps’ Infantry Training Centre in 1946 and assumed its current name in 1972.
Five years later the burghers of Exeter granted the establishment its highest civic honour, Freedom of the City, which permits personnel from the base “to march through the streets of the city with Bayonets fixed, Drums beating and Colours flying”.
Council Leader Phil Bialyk said: “In Exeter we’re proud to have such close links with the Marines in Lympstone, as we are with all the other regiments who have Freedom of the City.
“Armed Forces Day is a great way for the people of the city to come out and thank all the military units with a proud affiliation to the city and everything they do to keep this country safe.”
CTCRM is divided into three training wings – Commando, Commando Training and Specialist.
Around 1,300 recruits, 2,000 potential recruits and 400 potential Officers attend training courses, while the Training Wings run upwards of 320 separate courses a year for a further 2,000 students.