Irish WW2 heroes to return to battlefields

Ireland’s World War II veterans are signing up for a multi-million pound Lottery-funded scheme to revisit the battlefields where they saw active service.

The 'Heroes Return' scheme will allow every WWII veteran from Ireland to journey overseas to commemorate the battles they fought and the comrades they lost in the run up to the 60th anniversary of the momentous events that led to the end of the Second World War.

The £10 million programme is being rolled out by the New Opportunities Fund, the Lottery good cause distributor, in partnership with the veterans organisation COBSEO (Confederation of British Service and Ex-Service Organisations).

This programme will provide grants for veterans and their spouses and/or their carers to visit the countries where they served such as France, North Africa or the Far East, at any time in 2004 and 2005. The Fund will help veterans to record their experiences on these visits so that new generations can learn from them.

Walter Rader, Director of the New Opportunities Fund in Northern Ireland, said: "I am delighted that the New Opportunities Fund is able to recognise the significant contribution that Second World War veterans who live in Ireland made to the war effort.

"We intend to work closely with the Royal British Legion to develop a successful partnership approach to ensure that Irish veterans benefit from this scheme. As a UK-based charity, the Royal British Legion has a unique role to play in helping us to deliver this scheme.

"We are confident that this programme, with its emphasis on learning, will significantly contribute to ensuring that future generations learn from the valuable experiences of those who took part in the Second World War."

Former D-Day veteran Colum Bannus, now a Franciscan Monk, said he was delighted that the Heroes Return programme had been launched. The 80-year-old from Waterford added that he would be applying for Lottery funding to travel back to Normandy where he took part in the Landings when he was in the RAF.

Veterans can contact the British Legion in Dublin on 003531 6713528 to find out more about the scheme.

(MB)