A WAR veteran from Colne will this summer make a trip to honour the fallen, thanks to lottery funding.

Kenneth Blackburn, 84, who served in the Royal Signals from 1944 to 1947, has been given £875 by the Big Lottery Fund (BIG).

He will spend 12 days visiting Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam and concentration camps in Poland with his wife in May.

He said: “I was in the Far East during the war and over the years I’ve been keen to see other key places such as the battlefields in France, the Japanese camp at the bridge on the River Kwai, and I’ve been to Pearl Harbour a few times.

“I’ve never been to Germany or Poland, though, so I thought this was my chance to see them while I’m still able.”

Mr Blackburn was a specialist in communications during the war and was stationed in India, Burma, China and the British Embassy in Hong Kong.

Although he never saw any fighting, he was involved in sending key messages about troops, warships and operations back to England.

He returned home to Colne in 1947 where he restarted an apprenticeship in radio technology, began before he joined the army, then went on to Alberta, Canada, for two years, working on televisions.

After that, he started up the Dobias shop in Colne, specialising in household equipment.

He said: “I think this lottery scheme is a great idea. It’s the first little bit I’ve ever been given for my work on the war.

“I expect that some of the places I visit will be quite moving.

“I read about the application process a while ago but forgot about it, but then my eldest daughter looked it up on the internet and applied for me.”

BIG is awarding funds through its Heroes Return 2 programme, enabling former servicemen to travel back to foreign fields where they served.

A total of £47,655 is being awarded to 58 veterans, spouses, widows and carers across the North West.

Helen Bullough, Big Lottery Fund head of region, said: “A huge debt of gratitude and recognition is owed to our Second World War veterans.

“I am delighted that through the Heroes Return 2 programme we can honour their courage and enable them to attend commemorative events at home and abroad, to revisit the fields where they fought and pay respect to fallen comrades.”