D-Day vet, 102, grateful for Government travel support

A D-Day veteran from Leeds has praised the Government for providing support for Second World War veterans to travel overseas to commemorative events.

- by Alex Grant

In an announcement on Remembrance Sunday, the Ministry of Defence said it recognised the "profound importance" of enabling those who had served in the conflict to pay their respects at sites where they fought and their comrades had fallen.

It came ahead of the publication of the Government's Veterans Strategy yesterday (Monday), which outlines plans for celebrating veterans and recognising them as a strategic national asset. The funding will begin from next year.

Jack Mortimer, from Seacroft, served as a corporal with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps during the war and landed on Sword Beach on D-Day in 1944.

He said he is "grateful" for the new support.