Union Flags to fly high above Humber Bridge for Jubilee

The Union Flag will fly from two of the highest points in the region at the top of the Humber Bridge as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Hessle Town Council, which has also organised the Jubilee Flotilla (a small fleet of warships) and flypast for the celebrations, secured an agreement with the Humber Bridge Board to raise the flags on each of the two towers of the Bridge on the evening of Wednesday, June 1.

Local businesses have rallied round to provide the flags and will take the opportunity to acknowledge the armed forces by handing the flag-hoisting duties to Gary “Goose” Cryer. Gary is a Parachute Regiment veteran and founding member of the Care After Combat Charity.

The flags have been sourced by Hull-based company Hi-Fliers, which was formed around 40 years ago and operates internationally with a second branch in Florida.

The installation cost have been covered by Estates, a property business based on the banks of the Humber at Waterside Business Park in Hessle.

Nigel Cousins, managing director of Hi-Fliers, said: “We have never done a flag above 300 feet high and the towers reach 510 feet so it will be a high point for us! I don’t know if anybody will be going higher than that for the Platinum Jubilee but they will certainly be the highest flags in our region and we are very proud to be involved.”

The Jubilee Flotilla of 70 ships and boats will be a celebration of Her Majesty’s reign. It will also be a re-enactment of the Humber Flotilla of 60 boats for the Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and the historic occasion in 1987 when watermen gathered their boats on the Humber in celebration of Queen Victoria’s 60-year reign.

The town council has also liaised with Visit Hull and East Yorkshire on a programme of activities during the day which will include music and entertainment at Hessle Foreshore and Hull Marina.

Michael Wood, the East Riding of Yorkshire town crier, will deliver a Royal proclamation at the beacon on Hessle Foreshore at 2pm on Thursday, June 2.

The RAF Battle of Britain flypast by two Spitfires at Victoria Pier in Hull will signal the start of the flotilla at 7pm. The vessels are due to arrive at the Humber Bridge at 8pm and will then turn round west of the bridge and begin their return to Hull at 9pm, with some continuing to Grimsby.

At 9.45pm there will be the ceremonial lighting of Jubilee beacons at Hull, Hessle, North Ferriby, Barton and other locations around the estuary – all part of an initiative to light 2,022 beacons around the UK.

Beacons will also be lit in all 54 Commonwealth capitals and the Principal Beacon lighting will take place in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

From street parties to free rollercoaster rides, these are some of the exciting events planned across Greater Lincolnshire for the Platinum Jubilee – see our round-up here.