THE Army is renowned for its spit and polish.

But over the next few weeks pensioner Don Whitaker is going to become something of an expert.

The 73-year-old volunteer guide at the Green Howards Museum, in Richmond, has agreed to help museum assistant Paul Cooper put the shine back on 3,000 badges and buckles and 3,750 medals before the attraction reopens to the public in early February.

"I quite enjoy the work,'' he said. "They take quite a bit of work, using old toothbrushes and plenty of elbow grease, but it's very satisfying.''

Staff and volunteers are also preparing a display on the D-Day Landings to mark the 60th anniversary of the invasion next year.

The only man to win the Victoria Cross during the landings was Sergeant Major Stan Hollis, a Green Howard, of Middlesbrough.

"Without guides and volunteers like Don, the museum wouldn't run so efficiently and we'd struggle to get all our work done in our two closed months,'' said curator, Major Roger Chapman.