ARTHUR Abbott was captured by German soldiers during the Second World War while he was looking for injured soldiers in a small Dutch town.

As a medical sergeant, Mr Abbott went with his doctor to Venray, Holland, to look for casualties of the fighting, but once in the town the men were captured by German troops, including a man called Oswalk Jansen.

Now, after more than 60 years, Mr Abbott is to spend Armistice Day back in Holland with his former captor.

The two men met for the first time since the war in the 1990s and since then an unlikely friendship has developed.

Mr Abbott, 82, who lives in Middlesbrough, said: "It was strange to see him at first but we write to each other now and exchange Christmas cards.

"It seemed fitting to go back to Holland on Armistice Day, which is always a special day."

Mr Abbott was 15 when he joined the Army as a band boy and within a few months was sent to join the 1st Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment, in India.

He stayed in India for seven years until war broke out in 1939.

Weeks after his capture, Mr Abbott was chosen by the Germans to carry a deal back to the British suggesting an exchange of imprisoned doctors.

The deal was rejected and that was the last time Mr Abbott saw Mr Jansen and his other captors during war time.

Years after the war, Mr Abbott put his prolific writing skills and some keen detective work into practice and managed to locate Mr Jansen.

He is now preparing for what he says could be his final trip to Holland.

He said: "I have met Mr Jansen and his family before and they are lovely. We had an interpreter when we met because neither of us speak the other's language.

"I saw so much in the war, especially being in the medical corps. So many people died and Armistice Day is a time to remember.

"Being with Oswalk will make this year's event even more moving than usual."