In June members of the Norwich branch of the Normandy Veterans Association are returning to the battlefields where they fought for our freedom. And, as DEREK JAMES discovers, there's a chance to join them on their poignant trip.

This is your chance to go on a continental coach trip with a difference – with travelling companions who are also heroes.

This week some of them were on parade for the opening of the war memorial gardens in the heart of the city – and I suspect many were thinking about comrades who didn't live to see the memorial and gardens looking so good.

In June members of the Norwich branch of the Normandy Veterans Association are returning to the battlefields where they fought for our freedom on and following D-Day in 1944, and will be remembering those who never came home.

In those days they were brave young soldiers – battling their way up the blood-soaked beaches and fighting their way across Europe before Nazi Germany finally surrendered. Now in their 80s and 90s these old warriors are still regarded as heroes in France where their annual pilgrimage is a major event on the calendar. These liberators will never be forgotten and the stories of what they did are passed on from one generation to the next.

Today Jack Woods, secretary of the Norwich branch which is regarded as one of the best in the country, would like to invite Evening News readers to join them.

'We have a few vacancies on the coach. It will be an opportunity for people to travel to Normandy with guides who know exactly what they are talking about, because they were there,' said Jack.

'It will be good to welcome some people who are really interested in Second World War history and they will get the opportunity to join us at various events and functions,' added Jack, a former member of the Tank Regiment who has been honoured by the French for his work with the association.

The party leaves Norwich on June 4 and returns to the city on June 9. Events include attending various services and ceremonies remembering and honouring the fallen.

'This is an opportunity to experience Normandy through the eyes of those who served there in June of 1944,' added Jack.

For more information and costs involved called Kitty Burge on Norwich 01603 456256.