SOME people will go to great lengths for a get together, and for two members of the 11th Battalion XX Lancashire Fusiliers, several thousand miles of land and sea is no excuse.

Two former comrades travelled from different parts of Australia to spend time with their old pals on Saturday.

Fred Greenwood from Melbourne and Wilf Tomlinson from Glenelg, South Australia, met up with old friends at the Lancashire Fusiliers 47th annual reunion dinner, at Bury Masonic Hall.

They were greeted by 36 members, many of whom have been meeting regularly for more than four decades.

Mr Greenwood who hails from Rochdale described the reunion as "tremendous."

Returning to England for the first time since he left in 1947, he said: "The last time I saw my army mates they were young men in the prime of their lives. It has always been my ambition to see them again, but I never expected to see them as old men.

"It has been a tremendous experience, the climax of my holiday."

The chairman of the fusiliers reunion, Mr Harold Lowe, said: "We send invites to Australia every year, but it was a bit of a surprise when they both wrote back to say they were coming.

"It's been almost 50 years since we've seen each other, but I recognised them immediately. It was wonderful to sit and chat about old times."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.