A SECOND World War veteran is getting £500 from the Big Lottery Fund's Heroes Return 2 programme to attend a remembrance ceremony in Holland.

Colonel Harold Dee MBE, 84, from Birtley, Gateshead, will return to the Monument of Tolerance, near the border with Germany, which was built to honour the dead of 11 countries in fighting in the Leudal area.

Col Dee joined the Home Defence Battalion aged 15 and then joined the Commandos as a Corporal in 1944. He continued in the forces until he retired on his 65th birthday and was awarded an MBE for his time in Northern Ireland.

Col Dee, said of his last trip to the ceremony: "At the time around the ceremony the streets were lined with school children who welcomed us.

"We couldn't pay for anything in the cafes and restaurants, the people are so thankful for their liberation. People really rallied round to help and support us during the trip.

"We met some very, very interesting people. A Jewish couple who kindly drove us around told us about when they were children and had been hidden away from the Nazis by Dutch families.

"The wife had also been captured and imprisoned in the Belsen concentration camp. They are both now quite wealthy and successful and told us how they would never of had the opportunities they had if it wasn't for what we did during the war."

Since the Heroes Return 2 scheme launched in April 2009, grants totalling £165,000 have been awarded across the North-East, benefiting 228 veterans, spouses, widows and carers.