A FORMER army medic has won his 30 year fight to be awarded a war pension.

And he believes his victory could pave the way for veterans of World War Two, the Gulf War and other conflicts to fight for pensions.

Leonard Griffiths, 55, from Higher Fold, Leigh, has finally been awarded a War Pension by the Government after taking them to the Court of Human Rights.

As reported in the Journal, he had been locked in a battle with the ministry of defence and the department of social security since 1970 over his right to a war pension. He was discharged as medically unfit for service in 1966.

Mr Griffiths believes that his role in the massacre of the entire population of two villages in Aden in southern Arabia could have led to him being snubbed by the Government. He claims the massacre -- including women, children and elderly -- was retaliation by the British for an atrocity against a priest and led to an attempt to cover up the incident which held up his claim for three decades. Since the massacre of 2,000 men and women -- in which he not only took part but had to check the dead -- Mr Griffiths says he has suffered flashbacks and nightmares.

He said: "I have what is known as combat stress trauma or desert syndrome. In the old days they used to call it shell-shock. It means I have constant tiredness, am short of breath and short tempered. I still have flashbacks and terrible nightmares. Now that I have won the right to this War Pension it could open the flood-gates for lots more sufferers who have been denied before to have another go." But he faces another fight this time . . . against cancer. A tumour was removed but has now returned -- although Mr Griffiths says that after his long battle against the authorities he was not scared to combat the cancer.

Mr Griffiths served with the Royal Pioneer Corps as a regimental medic in the conflict at Aden, which is now part of the republic of Yemen. He was with a patrol who stumbled across the badly mutilated body of the priest along with several other mutilated British soldiers who were on peace duties. The massacre at the two villages known as the battle of Crater led to the disbandment of The Argyll Southern Ireland regiment.

Mr Griffiths appealed to the War Pensions Tribunal and more detailed medical evidence was presented on his behalf.

In a written decision a spokesman for the War Pensions Agency said: "This award of War Pension clears your appeal. I am pleased to have been able to make this award for you and hope you are keeping well."

Mr Griffiths has been awarded a pension at the rate of 30 per cent, backdated to March 1994. He is still waiting to hear if the pension can be back-dated to when he left the armed forces in 1966.

Meanwhile The Royal British Legion announced this week that war pensioners can appeal against War Pension Agency decision on their entitlement to allowances that supplement war pensions.