In 2013, a group of councillors from Warminster visited Warminster, USA and were shown around the town.
Now, a group from the USA, including Leo Quinn III, chairperson of Warminster Board of Supervisors (the USA equivalent of Mayor) at the time in 2013, is to visit Warminster UK to commemorate ten years of twinning with Warminster Township, Pennsylvania.
The group will be welcomed to the town for celebrations to commemorate the decade-long relationship.
After a welcome lunch and tour of town landmarks on Saturday, September 16, the group will be entertained at Prestbury Sport’s Bar, hosting a David Bowie tribute and buffet.
On Sunday, 17, the Town Crier performs a particular twinning cry just before 10am for the opening of the Autumn Market, also in the centre. Mayor of Warminster, Cllr Phil Keeble, will greet the guests and give them an English Flag and a book about Warminster. Councillor Keeble said: “Warminster USA has a population of 32,000, but they are all welcome to come and pay us a visit. The township was founded in 1685, so it will be nice to show them some of our older heritage. A different approach between the two Warminster’s can be illustrated by space exploration.
Warminster, Pennsylvania, notably trained astronauts for the Apollo Space programme, whereas Warminster, Wiltshire, is famous for UFOs visiting Cley Hill.
“So, in the USA, you send people to the moon perhaps to encounter alien life forms, whereas in the UK, we prefer to wait for the aliens to visit us. The USA township is famous as a training centre for astronauts whereas Warminster UK was known in the 1970s for UFO visits.” he will tell the prestige visitors.
As well as sharing a name. The towns are proud of their green spaces. The Lake Pleasure Grounds, managed by Warminster Town Council, covers just 16 acres, with Smallbrook Meadows covering another 50. Warminster Township’s Recreation Services Division oversees and maintains 420 acres of recreation areas within 13 parks. Warminster Community Park is the largest at 240 acres, with more than five miles of trails.
In 2013, former councillor Nick Pitcher presented the town shield to Warminster, PA, with various publications from Warminster after corresponding with the township’s Rotary Club. The idea of twinning is to create links with potential visitors from the US and to the larger namesake.