Hundreds of people are expected to line the streets of Marlborough to welcome 200 soldiers from the 4 Military Intelligence Battalion home from Afghanistan next week.

Soldiers from the Bulford-based battalion have completed a six month tour as part of Operation Herrick and the parade, on November 28, will be a celebration of their bravery, as well as their safe return home.

The battalion was officially granted the freedom of the town in June 2011 and on that occasion 160 soldiers paraded along Marlborough High Street before crowds of people.

But Major Richard Stevens, who is organising the parade, said this year’s parade would be even bigger, with two Chinook helicopters scheduled to fly over the town at 11pm.

He said: “It’s a real privilege to have the freedom of Marlborough and we have a fantastic relationship with the mayor and the people of Marlborough.

“It’s a difficult environment in Afghanistan, so to get everyone back is a real achievement. We would love the people of Marlborough and from the surrounding area to come and join us in celebration and to just enjoy the morning with us.”

The 4 Military Intelligence Battalion is responsible for providing information to senior officers on the battlefield to help them make informed tactical decisions.

Servicemen and women will assemble at Marlborough College before marching through the High Street to a dais outside Lloyds Bank, where speeches will be given and medals will presented.

Forty soldiers, who have completed their first Afghanistan tour, will be given medals, as well as children of armed forces members to recognise the part families play in supporting loved ones.

Most of the soldiers arrived back from Afghanistan in October, enjoying a few weeks with their families before rehearsals for the parade, and afterwards they will have a Christmas leave period.

Major Stevens said: “What most of them are looking forward to is their families being able to see them in a work environment. A lot of the time soldiers go to work and then they come home.

“They have been working long arduous hours, in arduous conditions, at a very demanding working tempo, working seven days a week flat out with very little chance for rest and recuperation.

“Children and families, they don’t get to experience what they do day in day out. This is a way of them seeing soldiers in their working environment.”

Marlborough’s deputy mayor Marion Dobson said: “They are so brave, and so young most of them, and they’re a lovely bunch of chaps. We have quite a lot to do with them, we have a civic dinner on November 22 and that’s to acknowledge how brave they are and to say thank you.”