Yorkshire Day was first celebrated in 1975 in Beverley by the Yorkshire Ridings Society to recognise the integrity of the county following the re-organisation of Local Government in 1974.

Yorkshire was the first county in England to have an official county day and the celebration is now marked in towns and cities across the region.

August 1 was chosen as it is the anniversary of the Battle of Minden fought during the Seven Years War.

On this day in 1759 soldiers from Yorkshire regiments picked white roses from bushes near to the battlefield as a tribute to their fallen comrades.

To mark the 250th anniversary of the battle, Roger Sewell, vice-chairman of the society, and his wife are walking more than 250 miles from the Man-sion House in York to Min-den in Ger-many to present the Burg-ermeister of the city with a Yorkshire rose and raise money for the British Legion.

August 1 is also the birthday of William Wilberforce, a Yorkshire MP, who fought for the abolition of slavery.

Each year members of the society read a declaration of the integrity of Yorkshire.

For the first three years following Yorkshire Day’s creation, members of the society walked from Sedbergh to Spurn Point, near Hull, reading the declaration in each of the region’s three ridings.

Walking around York’s city walls was later found to be an easier way of passing through the three ridings and the declaration is now read facing into each one.

From 2007 readings were also held in York city centre.

More than 100 people gathered for a traditional fish and chip lunch in Bradford on Friday in support of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal and were entertained by Morris dancers.

The event at the Great Victoria Hotel on Bridge Street raised £700 for Councillor John Godward’s charities, Bradford and District Senior Power and Little Heroes Cancer Trust.

Meanwhile, other Yorkshire Day celebrations were taking place across the Bradford district on Saturday.

In Ilkley the celebrations were due to start with a declaration by the Town Crier outside the Town Hall at 11.32am followed by a concert with the Clifton & Lightcliffe Band in the Winter Gardens.

Yorkshire chutney and pastry design competitions and a performance from Grassington’s Penny Plain Theatre Company were also being held.

Haworth Fine Food Festival was being held in Central Park in the village today with cookery demonstrations by celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli and displays by chefs at Bradford restaurants, including Robert Ramsden and Somjai Sutthaso, of Chino Thai restaurant, on Sunday.

Visitors arriving at Leeds-Bradford International Airport today were being greeted by the Welcome to Yorkshire samba band, which features on TV advertisements for the region.