Bank fines pay for D-Day heroes’ trips
BRITAIN’S dwindling ranks of D-Day veterans have been offered the chance to visit the French battlefields of their youth for free.
Now the hunt is on to find every surviving veteran.
The Royal British Legion has been given £4million by the Government for D-Day survivors to revisit the beaches they stormed 73 years ago.
The cash comes from the fines imposed on banks involved in the Libor interest rate-fixing scandal.
Several thousand veterans are thought to be alive – but there is no record of where they live.
The Legion’s travel arm is now appealing to the public to help find them.
Nichola Rowlands, of Remembrance Travel, said yesterday: “It is so vital for all D-Day veterans to return at least one last time to Normandy.
“They find the tour a cathartic experience and it helps them lay many old ghosts to rest.
“The tours enable a veteran to be accompanied by a carer and a family member. It’s wonderful to see them appreciate what dad, granddad or greatgranddad did in Normandy.”
Former RAF corporal Peter Price, 91, from Weymouth, Dorset, took the trip last year with his niece and 16 veterans.
Peter, who ferried supplies across the Channel on D-Day, said: “It was time the banks gave something back. This is a wonderful opportunity to go back to where we fought for our nation’s freedom”.
Chancellor Philip Hammond, who made the Libor fund available, said it was “a token of our nation’s immense debt of gratitude.”
Call tour partner Arena Travel on 01473 660800 or visit arenatravel.com/journeysofremembrance