Heroes Return

The Forgotten Battlefields of North Africa

British Veterans Travel offers the opportunity for those who fought in North Africa during WWII, particularly in Libya, to return to their battlefields and remember lost comrades. This short trip is supported by the Heroes Return scheme which provides funding to eligible individuals and a partner or carer.

Until now, visiting all the battlefields of the Western Desert Campaign of WWII has not been easy due to closed borders and red tape. British Veterans Travel, working with operators in Libya, is pleased to announce a trip that visits the strategic points of the campaign from Sidi Rezegh, Gazala, Tobruk and on to Benghazi. This Commemorative Tour will take place in October 2010 and offers the chance for WWII Veterans to visit Libya, for so long a country closed to tourism, and remember comrades whose graves remain carefully tended.

Heroes Return Scheme

Second World War veterans from across the UK, Channel Islands and

Ireland are being awarded grants from the Big Lottery Fund to return to places across the world where they saw action.

Through the ‘Heroes Return 2' programme veterans can apply for grants to cover travel and accommodation costs to revisit the places where they saw active service, or to attend commemoration events in the UK. Widows and widowers of veterans can also apply, and carers and spouses can receive funding to accompany them. The funding is due to cease in January 2011so this year may be the last chance to access such financial support.

British Veterans Travel is working with Heroes Return and will be running a series of battlefield tours, the first of which will be a commemorative tour through Egypt and Libya in October this year, 68 years on from the historic battle at El Alamein.

About the Western Desert Campaign (1940-1942)

The epic Western Desert Campaign of WWII was a continuous back-and-forth struggle between the Allied and the Axis forces, chiefly the British 8 th Army and Rommel's Afrika Korps. Throughout this series of battles and stalemates both sides consistently showed fortitude, ingenuity and determination.

After an initial Italian invasion of Egypt, Italian forces were driven back into Libya, and Rommel was sent with the specially trained Afrika Corps to stem a further Italian retreat. The British were driven back to the Egyptian border, though they defended Tobruk. They counter-attacked late in 1941, and fighting continued the following year, with Rommel once more gaining the initiative at the prodigious Battle of Gazala. In October, British troops under Montgomery defeated Rommel at the Battle of El Alamein, and drove the German troops west once more.

The Tour

British Veterans Travel is working with a trusted in-country tour operator to run the 8 night commemorative trip for veterans of WWII who served in North Africa. This will enable them to visit the battlefields and memorials from the Western Desert Campaign. The first of two tours to the region will take place from the 7th to 15th October 2010. A representative of British Veterans Travel will lead the tour and a local guide with knowledge of the battlefields will accompany the group to provide information, answer any questions and bring the battles to life. Temperatures in the region at this time of year should be comfortable, however, consideration of the health & wellbeing of Veterans will always be a priority.  

Additional Information

For more information and details of how to apply for a Heroes Return grant, please call 0845 0000 121 or visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_heroes_return .

For more information or to book a place on the Libya trip, please call British Veterans Recognition Card on 01376 513215.

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