Wootton Bassett gets the royal treatment - ABC Online

ELEANOR HALL: To the UK now where the honour of a royal title has been bestowed on a town for the first time in more than 100 years and for only the third time in British history.

Thousands of people lined the streets of Wootton Bassett in south-west England, as Princess Anne handed over the letters patent on behalf of the Queen.

But while the locals were keen to accept the honour, they also insisted the occasion was not a celebration, as Barney Porter explains.

BARNEY PORTER: It's a tradition that only developed in recent years with the military's decision in 2007 to name the RAF base at Lyneham, in south-west England, as the point of repatriation for the bodies of personnel killed in overseas conflicts.

The decision meant the funeral corteges would have to pass through Wootten Bassett, on route to a hospital in Oxford.

The first repatriation took place in April 2007. The then mayor, Percy Miles donned his official robes to watch the cortege pass.

The number of residents watching on slowly grew, drawing relatives of the fallen as well as well as the British media.

Then came the announcement last March that the town would be rewarded for the way in which it honoured the dead.

On the weekend, Queen Elizabeth's daughter, Princess Anne told the crowd the award of letters patent is rarely bestowed.

PRINCESS ANNE: You are being honoured for the way in which you have honoured the sacrifice of service men and women. This community has come together in a most extraordinary way, a town rich in tradition and secure in its sense of values.

BARNEY PORTER: It's the third town to receive the award. The first was Leamington Spa in 1838, following a visit by Queen Victoria.

The last one was Tunbridge Wells in 1909, when Edward VII bestowed the "Royal" prefix in recognition of the town's connections with the Royal Family going back to the Stuart dynasty.

The mayor of Wooten Bassett, Paul Heaphy accepted the honour on the town's behalf but insisted it was not a celebration.

PAUL HEAPHY: The Royal status is a privilege yet it is received with sadness, mindful of the high price paid by our forces, a day for reflection and a day to mark the start of a new chapter in the life of our town.

BARNEY PORTER: Locals also insisted the name change reflected a sombre occasion.

WOOTTEN BASSETT RESIDENT: I do hope that when the history books are written and the title Royal is used, that it will be associated with those who came through this town far too frequently because that is what it is all about.

WOOTTEN BASSETT RESIDENT 2: Wootten Bassett do deserve what they got today so I am proud of them, I really am.

WOOTTEN BASSETT RESIDENT 3: The ceremony was obviously very moving. It is nice to hear nice things said about this community that is for sad reasons.

WOOTTEN BASSETT RESIDENT 4: It is a commemoration of the way that the town has reflected the feelings of the country really, in fact some ways perhaps Bassett has changed the feelings of the country.

BARNEY PORTER: With RAF Lyneham due to close next year, the final repatriation took place last August.

In all, 345 men and women have been saluted by the town which can now take its place in royal British history.

(British National Anthem - God Save the Queen)

ELEANOR HALL: Barney Porter.