D-Day Revisited War Heroes in National Spotlight

Nine Second World War veterans, from National Lottery funded Cheshire project D-Day Revisited, will appear on this Saturday’s National Lottery Live, 8:50pm, BBC One.

The D-Day landings in June 1944 remain the largest in world history. D-Day Revisited was first established in October 2008 to ensure that the thousands of lives lost are not forgotten.

Thanks to over £44,000 National Lottery funding, veterans from D-Day Revisited have been able to pay their tributes to the boys who didn’t come home, by making pilgrimages to the Normandy beaches on the anniversary of the D-Day landings through the BIG Lottery Fund’s Heroes Return programme.

96 year old Ronald Lyle Rowson is one of the nine veterans to appear on the show this Saturday. In June 2012 Ron took part in the annual pilgrimage to Normandy with D-Day Revisited, his first trip back since 1944, which proved ‘a very moving trip’ for him.

Ronald says “I am delighted to have this opportunity to appear on the National Lottery Live. It is an ideal way to show our appreciation for National Lottery funding.”

“It means such a great deal to return to those battlefields. Although nearly 70 years has passed, we still feel a strong sense of duty to return to pay respects to our comrades who were not so fortunate. I am delighted to have had this opportunity.”

John Phipps of D-Day Revisited says “We are always keen for the wider public to learn about the Normandy landings and how it has affected all our lives. In many ways the veterans are ordinary people from within our own neighbourhoods. They are granddads and great-granddads now, yet when they were young men they trained hard, then stormed the beaches of the Atlantic Wall and liberated Europe.”

“For that huge contribution to our modern freedoms, D-Day Revisited’s motivation is to help veterans to be front and centre, always so smartly turned out in their blazers and medals, so that we can learn more of our Nation’s history from the people who were actually there.”

The D-Day Revisited appearance on this Saturday’s National Lottery Live will allow the veterans to raise awareness of the D-Day story to younger generations.
Jackie O’Sullivan, spokesperson for the National Lottery, said “People don’t always make the connection between playing the National Lottery and funding fantastic projects across the UK, which make a massive difference to millions of people’s lives.”

“National Lottery players raise £35million each and every week for projects like D-Day Revisited, and since 1994 a whopping £30 billion has been raised to help projects across the arts, sports, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.”

To find out more about how National Lottery players’ money is supporting people, projects and places across the UK, visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk.