Coach operator lays on complimentray coach travel for war heroes
Coach operator National Express generously laid on free coach travel for 700 World War ll Veterans last Sunday to transport the war heroes to London to partake in the D-Day landings commemoration. They Veterans joined the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and defence secretary Bob Ainsworth for the ceremony held at Westminster Abbey.
Over 700 members of the Normandy Veterans Association were transported using the fleet of specially charted coaches. The majority of the Veterans are over 80 years of age and so the direct and free coach service to London enabled many of them to make the trip, who otherwise may have struggled to attend the service. Coaches were dispatched from 20 different locations across the UK including Birmingham, Liverpool, Leicester and Southport.
It was particularly important that as many of the Veterans as possible made the trip to Westminster for the 65th Anniversary of the D-Day landings as it was expected to be the last time the men would be able to collect as a group to commemorate the important historical event.
The honorary general secretary of the Normandy Veteran Association, Peter L Hodge said “The special coach services mean members can travel comfortably to Westminster Abbey as a group without worrying about travel expenses or connections. The Association does not receive public funding, so it makes an enormous difference to get travel for free.”