World War Two veteran and former Preston North End winger Sir Tom Finney has met the men following in his military footsteps.
Sir Tom, who served in the Royal Armoured Corps, met fellow tank unit soldiers from the King's Royal Hussars at Preston Flag Market.
Along with members of the public, he inspected their Scimitar reconnaissance vehicles.
The meeting came ahead of around 150 Hussars soldiers marching through Leyland today and Preston on Wednesday to exercise their freedoms of both boroughs.
Major Trevor Winchcombe, Kings Royal Hussars HQ squadron leader, said: "Many of the soldiers on parade are from the Lancashire area, and all have served on operations in either Afghanistan or Iraq in the last 12 months.
"We are here to reconfirm our ties with the local community."
See Thursday's Lancashire Evening Post for a picture special on the soldiers' marches.
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