VE–Day heroes make return pilgrimages 65 years on

11 May 2010 11:18 AM

Last Saturday, the country marked the 65th Anniversary of VE-Day and reflected on the sacrifices of the veterans who secured democracy during the Second World War.

WW2 veterans who were part of the final push 65 years ago that brought an end to the war in Europe have been returning to the places they served with funding from the Big Lottery Fund’s Heroes Return 2 scheme.

Last week BIG confirmed funds for a further 141 veterans to make their emotional journeys with grants totalling over £200,000. Since the scheme launched in April 2009 a total of over £6.5 million has now been awarded, allowing our Second World War veterans to go back to recollect and pay respects to fallen comrades.

After almost six years of warfare costing millions of lives, Tuesday 8^th May 1945 marked the official end of the war in Europe as the Allies accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. Despite the fight against the Japanese continuing until mid August, Winston Churchill’s address to the nation announcing the end of the war with Germany sparked mass celebration.

One veteran who vividly recalls the lead up to VE-Day is Ian Forsyth, 85, from Hamilton, Scotland who used a Heroes Return grant to go back to the Normandy battlefields last year.

A fresh-faced 17-year-old when he joined up in 1941, Ian Forsyth trained as a wireless operator with the 19th Hussars. On board a Churchill tank, he was on reconnaissance with the 11th Armoured Division that landed in Normandy and fought in France, Belgium and the Netherlands and over the Rhine into Germany.

Three of Ian’s own tanks were destroyed and he lost many comrades and friends. While he escaped serious injury, the mental scars remain. A heart-wrenching encounter dramatically brought home the full horror of the war – the day Ian arrived at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

“It was early April 1945 and our division had stopped near to the villages of Bergen and Belsen. We’d seen a lot of German activity in the immediate area, with a great many vehicles and people on the move. After two or three hours we were given the go-ahead to progress the three miles up the road.

“The first thing that hit you was the stench; an awful greasy smell. We were completely unprepared for what we found. At this time the camp was still under German control and they had a garrison inside with guards standing right in front of us. As we arrived, there were high-level discussions going on about surrender.”

Bergen-Belsen had started out as a prisoner-of-war camp and by 1945 there were around 60,000 people there. There were no gas chambers at Belsen; this was a starvation camp. Prisoners were slowly robbed of their lives, their bodies incinerated to remove the evidence.

In the months before liberation, thousands of Jews from other camps were moved to Belsen as the German front collapsed. Food supplies were low and conditions appalling. There was no running water, and typhus and cholera were pandemic. In the following weeks, about 10,000 people were buried in mass graves, and shocked audiences saw the footage in cinemas around the world.

Ian added: “In war you witness first-hand the depths to which humanity can sink. I was thunderstruck by what I saw – it was the first time that I realised exactly why we were fighting the war. On that day, I saw something which I did not believe could have been true.

“When we passed nearby villages after we left Belsen, we tried to find out more about how this could be allowed to happen, but people said they knew nothing, which was impossible. That day changed me forever. I will never forget what happened there and the sights that I saw can still make me weep.”

The Big Lottery Fund is continuing to ensure the efforts of Second World War veterans from across the UK and Ireland are not forgotten through its Heroes Return 2 scheme, awarding grants for ex-servicemen and women to return on commemorative trips back to places across the world where they saw action. Veterans or their widows/widowers are still being urged to apply to the initiative, which remains open for applications until January 2011.

Peter Wanless, Big Lottery Fund Chief Executive, said: “The anniversary of VE-Day is a poignant reminder of the sacrifices of hundreds of thousands of British servicemen and women who lost their lives during the Second World War. Without them we would not have the freedoms we enjoy today.

“A huge debt of gratitude and recognition is owed to the men and women who fought, not just in Europe but across the globe. I am delighted we are able to offer Lottery funding for them to return and pay their respects at the places they served and to attend memorial events within the UK.”

BIG is continuing its support for UK veterans through its new £35 million Forces in Mind initiative to establish an independent trust to provide long term support and advocacy for former service personnel. The funding will help veterans who served in conflicts including Iraq, Afghanistan and the Gulf War struggling with the transition to civilian life, especially those whose psychological well-being subsequently impacts on the quality of their life and others around them.

Originally launched in 2004 to mark the historic 60^th anniversary of D-Day, BIG’s first Heroes Return scheme, part of the Veterans Reunited programme, awarded £16.6 million to over 39,000 veterans, spouses, widows and carers. The funding covered commemorative visits to battlefields, cemeteries and other significant places across the world.

Home Front Recall, also part of the Veterans Reunited programme, has funded £19.2 million to support UK-based events and activities to commemorate war-efforts on the home front. In schools and through education programmes the £9.6 million ‘Their Past Your Future’ scheme continues to allow young people to learn first-hand from veterans about experiences of war.

To find out more about the programme call the Heroes Return 2 helpline on 0845 00 00 121 or visit the website www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £24 billion has now been raised and more than 330,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
• Heroes Return £17 million scheme provided funding to Second World War veterans, their wives or husbands, widows and widowers and, where required, their present-day carers to visit the overseas areas where the veterans saw active service.  By linking with activities funded through the Their Past Your Future scheme, Heroes Return is also helping to give young people a better understanding of the efforts and sacrifices made by veterans.
• Home Front Recall provided grants of between £500 and £20,000 for regional and local projects across the UK in 2004-2005 that commemorated the events of the Second World War and the contributions of different groups in society.  The scheme funded a very wide range of projects including special community days; reunions and exhibitions; recordings of the experiences of those who lived through the War; plays and pieces of creative artwork. In addition, the scheme funded a number of national grants to organisations such as the TUC to fund a range of commemorative activities.
• Their Past Your Future is an ongoing UK-wide schools and education scheme to give young people the opportunity to learn first-hand from veterans about their experience of war. The Big Lottery Fund is working closely with the Imperial War Museum and the museums, libraries and archives sector UK-wide to help young people to research and learn about the personal experiences and roles played by forces personnel and civilians. Competitions have enabled schools to take part in World War Two related visits with veterans. The Imperial War Museum has a website (www.theirpast-yourfuture.org.uk) with a wide range of resources for schools to use and details of projects delivered by museums across the UK.