A VETERAN of a crucial battle of World War Two will be remembering fallen comrades during the memorial services taking place around the country on Sunday.

Joseph McKie was a signalman with the Royal Corps of Signals during the Battle of El Alamein in Egypt in 1942 when Field Marshal Montgomery triumphed over the German army commander Rommel.

The victory was a turning point in the Second World War and paved the way for an Allied victory in North Africa.

But for Mr McKie, now 95, who grew up in Cornsay Colliery, near Consett, the experience was the making of him.

He said: “I was 21 when I was conscripted and was away for four years. My parents did not know where I was. It was incredibly hard for families in those days.

“In the desert you had to put up with the heat and sandstorms blowing in your face.

“But for me it was an education. It taught me to look after myself and see the good from the bad.”

Mr McKie went on to serve in Italy and Germany before he was de-mobbed and returned to his job in the North-East making ceramic pipes and living in Esh Winning, near Durham with his sweetheart, Mona.

This Sunday he will be watching the televised service and thinking of his former comrades.

He said: “I will be sitting there thinking of my mates who did not come back.”

Later in live he also made televisions for a living and worked as a postman, but he it is the role he played in the military that sticks with him.

He added: “I was 2331500. A soldier never forgets his army number.”