AN old soldier will return to the theatre of war after being awarded a place on the Big Lottery Fund-backed Heroes Return scheme.

Seventy-nine years-old Reg Shortle is one of 233 veterans from the North West who have just been granted funding to revisit the battlefields and other historic locations where they saw action sixty years ago.

Reg and his wife Catherine, from Tyldesley, are among the 1,343 regional beneficiaries of the scheme which has to date helped veterans, widows, spouses and carers from the region.

Nationwide 2,010 veterans Heroes Return awards have been made by the Big Lottery Fund to help people like Reg take part in events overseas to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of WW2.

More than 60 years after they waved goodbye, wondering if they'd ever meet again, the Shortles are off across the English Channel to the battlegrounds of World War Two.

Born in Horwich in 1925 - when the railway works were in full swing "there must have been 3,000 people working there then" - Reg grew-up at a time when trams ran from Bolton to his hometown and went to Rivington and Blackrod Grammar School.

He left school to work on the LMS railway in the goods department at Bolton and became a railway clerk at Moses Gate gaining the transportation experience which stood him in good stead when he was conscripted into the Army in 1943.

As a Sapper, and later a Sergeant, in the Royal Engineers' movement and control section dealing with the movement of troops and supplies. He was among troops who landed at Aramanche and was responsible for helping keep the front line supplied during his time in Europe. He served in France, Belgium and Germany until he was demobbed in 1947.

His wife Catherine recalled: "When he left I didn't know where he was nor whether he would be coming home."

Delighted at being selected for Heroes return Mr Shortle is eagerly anticipating returning to France with his wife.

"We're going next May," he told the Journal.

"We will travel to Normandy and have the services of a guide. We will visit the English landing beaches. When we were there in 1944 we saw little of the local population, most of them had cleared-off and judging by the bombing destruction we saw who can blame them? They left their homes and everything in them.

"I went back to Normandy about 10 years ago with by brother-in-law Sydney Browning but now I am really looking forward to returning with my wife.

"I particularly want to see the Mulberry Harbour which really was the centre of our work there.

"There wasn't a harbour there so they built one in Britain and towed pontoons and bridging sections across to France and worked it as a proper port.

"A portion of the harbour has been retained as a museum piece. The British forces were supplied through this pre-fabricated harbour."

After returning to civilian life Reg went back to work on the railway travelling to Darlington each weekend to see his wife-to-be. They married in 1948 and later settled in Tyldesley. By this time Reg was employed in the insurance business then became North West regional deputy director for Barnardo's and held that position until he retired in 1987.

In recent years he gained a BA degree in contemporary history at Salford University and the avid Lancashire Cricket Club supporter also keeps busy as a governor of St Anne's CE School at Hindsford.

Already he's been pencilled into next year's timetable to tell pupils all about his experiences!

All about the scheme

THE Heroes Return scheme is open for applications for funding until March next year and trips can be taken through to the end of next year.

The Fund is helping veterans to record their experiences on these visits so that new generations can learn from them. War widows and widowers are also eligible for remembrance visits funding.

"The Fund is concerned that every veteran in the North West of England who might be able to make use of a Heroes Return grant should apply for one," said Big Lottery Fund Chief Executive Stephen Dunmore.

"The grants come from the good causes money contributed by people buying National Lottery tickets, and we know that spending on Heroes Return has tremendous public support.

"It recognises the great sacrifices made by men and women of Britain's wartime generation. Contact the Heroes Return hotline on 0845 4 10 20 30 to discuss claiming a grant."