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In the 60^th anniversary of events leading to the end of the Second World War, the National Lottery’s Heroes Return scheme which has so far funded over 18,000 UK veterans, widows, spouses and carers to journey overseas to revisit the battlefronts where they fought or where their comrades and loved ones fell, is today being honoured by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

The Big Lottery Fund’s £10 million Heroes Return scheme (launched in February this year) enables the veterans  to travel back to the places they saw action during WW2  in Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Far East.    

The Prime Minister will be presenting, the 10,000^th National Lottery Blue Plaque at Number 10 Downing Street to a group of war veterans and a war widow from the Italy Star Association  who have received awards from the Lottery’s Heroes Return scheme.  

Italy Star Association Branch chairman, 79-year-old Harold Tonks who was with the 8^th Army and landed behind enemy lines at Anzio said  "We went back in September to several battlefronts. This was really our last opportunity to pay our respects to our comrades who died in the front line, and it would not have been possible without the help and support of the National Lottery."   The Italy Star Association welcomes all veterans entitled to wear the Italy Star campaign medal. 

The Heroes Return scheme is one of three funding strands of the Big Lottery Fund's Veterans Reunited programme, through which National Lottery money enables veterans and young people to commemorate and honour the courage of Britain's wartime generation.

Stephen Dunmore, Chief Executive of the Big Lottery Fund, says “We are very proud to have been able to create the Heroes Return scheme, which has allowed all those involved in the Second World War to mark properly the  significant events in their lives which have helped shape world history”

National Lottery Blue Plaques were created in November 2003 and have been awarded to Lottery funded projects to show exactly where National Lottery money has been spent and how it has made a difference to communities across the UK.  National Lottery operator, Camelot, has sponsored the first 10,000 Blue Plaques.

The Heroes Return scheme is part of the  Big Lottery Fund’s Veterans Reunited programme which has also  awarded £10 million to the Imperial War Museum in London through its ‘Their Past, Your Future’ scheme enabling children to experience what the Second World War generation went through. The programme also features the Home Front Recall scheme under which £7.3 million is being provided to fund events and activities across the UK for groups including ex-service organisations to commemorate their wartime experience on the home front during the Second World War.

The National Lottery, which is celebrating its 10^th Birthday on 6 November 2004, has made a huge impact on local communities but many players are not aware of how their money has been spent.  Across the UK, National Lottery players have raised over £16 billion for good causes – benefiting over 180,000 projects, both large and small.  

 

Dianne Thompson, Chief Executive of National Lottery operator Camelot, said:  “As operator of The National Lottery, Camelot is aware how crucial it is to communicate to the playing public where their money has gone. We hope Blue Plaques on National Lottery funded projects will help the public see exactly how their money has been spent and how – by playing Lottery games - they have helped transform communities throughout the UK.”