Veterans will be able to visit foreign battlefields were they fought

A new fund, the Heroes Return Programme, will provide �10 million to help soldiers visit battlegrounds and cemeteries where their fallen comrades rest.

For Sergeant John Jones, from Blaenau Ffestiniog in north Wales, a trip to Italy would be indescribable.

The 81-year-old said: "We fought there. We captured the place and there's something about it. I can't say exactly what.

"It brings back memories where we lost some of our mates."

Sgt Jones was 18 when he enlisted in the Parachute Regiment in October 1942.

He worked in a coal mine after leaving the army, and said: "I'm lucky. I worked all my life. I can go to Arnhem (in the Netherlands) every year but a lot of old soldiers can't afford it.

"It costs quite a lot if you travel to Italy or Japan, or Burma or even through Europe.

"I'm sure a lot of them would love to go back.

It was no use trying to escape because we didn't have a clue where we were, what was happening around us, we didn't speak German and we didn't have any money Sgt John Jones

"The trouble is we are at the age now when everybody is over 80 and some can't afford to go."

Dressed in the traditional red tunic of the Chelsea Royal Hospital with five medals pinned to his chest, Sgt Jones also has fond memories of the war.

"When I think back, I always remember the good times.

"The good times would make you blush."

Sgt Jones was shot in the left shoulder and captured in Arnhem, in the Netherlands, in September 1944, where he spent nine months in a prisoner-of-war camp.

"It was no use trying to escape because we didn't have a clue where we were, what was happening around us, we didn't speak German and we didn't have any money," he said.

He was freed in May 1945 by a mob of Russians who were roaming the countryside looking for revenge.

Joint trip

The money, which has been provided by the National Lottery, will also pay for spouses and carers to accompany the ex-soldiers, and war widows and widowers will be able to claim for remembrance visits too.

Joan Hickman, 76, from Wood Green, north London, said it was important for her to go with her husband, Bill, to Italy where he served.

"It's all part of our life," she said.

It's very moving and you realise how many people gave up their lives for so-called freedom Joan Hickman, 76 Wife of veteran

"I went through the war, I went through the blitz in London.

"He lost several friends at different times and they go to remember their comrades.

"When we go to these places and we walk in the cemetery and see rows and rows of gravestones with 19 and 20-year-olds, it does bring it home to you what sacrifices were made.

"It's very moving and you realise how many people gave up their lives for so-called freedom."