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Warship joins Ryan and Rob on Wrexham freedom list

Royal Navy A warship is seen on the sea. It has a large red dragon painted on the front Royal Navy
HMS Dragon is one of the Royal Navy's six air defence destroyers

A Royal Navy warship has joined Hollywood star football club owners and a former prime minister in receiving the freedom of Wrexham.

HMS Dragon is the first Navy vessel to be given the city's highest honour since World War Two, and it will be celebrated with events including a parade next year.

One of the Navy's six air defence destroyers, in recent years it has been deployed to the Middle East where it seized drugs worth £200m in a "record-breaking" operation.

Wrexham FC owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, World War One PM David Lloyd George and the Royal Welsh, Wales' oldest Army regiment, are among those who have already been granted the freedom.

Freedom of the city is a centuries-old tradition that is today mostly a ceremonial title, given by local governments to thank those who have shown outstanding service or achievement to help a particular area.

HMS Dragon – which has recently undergone a refit and is out at sea – was affiliated to the city in April, which councillor Beverley Parry-Jones said was an honour to the council.

"All major Royal Navy ships have affiliations as part of a longstanding custom that binds their crew to the land," she said, adding that the county is "proud of our history supporting and commemorating our armed forces".

PA Media Wrexham FC owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds smile at the camera as they hold the football club's red and white striped scarf, with the football pitch behind them.PA Media
Wrexham FC's celebrity owers Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds received the freedom of the city in 2022

Cdr Iain Giffin, HMS Dragon's commanding officer, joined the council meeting by video link to accept the award, saying the welcome the ship had received had "exceeded expectations".

He noted that another Royal Navy ship, HMS Prince of Wales, recently received the freedom of Liverpool, and conducted a large parade and events through the city.

"We very much look forward to conducting similar events in late spring or early summer," he said, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Wrexham adopted three ships during World War Two, including the W Class destroyer HMS Veteran which was sunk by a German torpedo in the North Atlantic in 1942.

HMS Dragon, which has crew of more than 200, made its first deployment in 2013 from Portsmouth.