Thanks for war veterans (From Durham Times)

Thanks for war veterans

8:40am Tuesday 30th June 2009

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MINISTER for Veterans Kevan Jones handed out Veterans Badges to 23 ex-servicemen yesterday, including a 90-year-old Second World War medic.

The North Durham MP attended the Armed Forces Day celebrations held in the grounds of the DLI Museum, in Durham City, and later visited the home in Tanfield Lea, near Stanley, of Albert Layton.

Mr Layton, a former miner and trade union official, served from 1942 to 1945 in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He saw service in Italy and North Africa and was sent to Greece at the end of the war.

Mr Jones said: “It is an honour to present Mr Layton with his Veterans Badge. We owe Mr Layton and all those who have served in the Armed Forces a tremendous debt of gratitude for the sacrifices they have made to preserve the freedoms we so often take for granted.”

Mr Layton said he was “shocked’’ when he heard the MP was coming to give him his badge.

The event at the DLI Museum featured music by the 102 Battalion REME Pipe Band and the Durham Constabulary Band, the Army’s climbing wall, a display of military vehicles and re-enactors in Forties dress.

Mr Jones said the event was an opportunity to thank forces personnel and their families for their efforts and sacrifice.

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