Alex, 19, wings his way into history

Alex making history at the ceremony

A Royal Air Force serviceman from Oldham has become the youngest member of the armed forces to carry the Queen’s Colour.

Alex Richards (19), a weapons technician apprentice in the RAF, was selected to lead a parade while carrying the Colour during a landmark ceremony. The service, at the Staffordshire Arboretum, marked the reopening of a memorial garden dedicated to servicemen and women who trained at RAF Halton, also in Staffordshire, killed on duty.

The former Counthill School student has become the youngest, lowest ranking, forces member in history to carry the Colour. The job is usually handed to an officer, but organisers this year opted to choose an apprentice.

Alex’s mum, Caroline, said: “When he told us what he was going to be doing, I have never heard him so happy. “

Alex, based at RAF Cosford, said: “I felt really proud from the moment I got told I was going to be doing it.”

Follow us on Twitter - @OldhamChronicle