THOUSANDS more Second World War veterans are preparing to make emotional returns to the battlegrounds where so many of their comrades died.

As the 60th anniversaries of Victory in Europe (VE) Day and Victory in Japan (VJ) Day draw nearer, the Big Lottery Fund has announced grants for more veterans, spouses, widows and carers to travel overseas.

The latest grants to be handed out by the fund's Heroes Return scheme will mean 4,456 people can journey to remember those who did not return from the six-year conflict.

Among them will be 85-year-old John Connor, of Darlington, who is revisiting Malta, where his ship, HMS Spartan, was based.

He said: "I served as a stoker with the Royal Navy and was on HMS Spartan, which was bombed by a German glider bomb while on manoeuvres at Anzio.

"A bomb hit the boiler rooms at the other end of the ship, so I was one of the few survivors.

"The ship's commander, five officers and 65 ratings all perished."

Meanwhile, Joyce Dowding, of Redcar, east Cleveland, will return to Normandy, in France, where she served with the Navy, Army and Air Force Institute after the D-Day invasions in 1944.

She said: "I remember when we arrived at the Mulberry harbours on the Normandy beaches, we scrambled from our ships to smaller boats to get to the harbour and on to a truck to take us to Caen.

"Near the kitchens there was a smell that reminded us of drains. Unfortunately, it was coming from the dead bodies of soldiers killed in the first wave of the Allied invasion."

The deadline for applications for the Heroes Return scheme has been extended to May 31 and further funding has been made available. To apply for a grant, call 0845 410 2030.