A group of veterans will be riding a WW2 motorbike to retrace a veterans ride from Normandy to Berlin.

The team from Blackburn’s Veterans Living History Museum (VLHM) is organising ‘Operation Banham’ as a nod to D-Day and WW2 veteran, Lewis Banham.

Lewis Banham, 98, from Weir, rode a 500cc BSA M20 motorbike on his trip across European and the veterans from VLHM have bought the same bike for their ride across the continent.

As Lewis walked towards the bike, aided by his son Greg, he said: “Ahh Old Faithful" - which was his nickname for the bike that he rode off the landing craft on Gold Beach before criss-crossing through Europe taking vital messages to the front-line troops.

He said: “It is lovely to see. I think what they are planning is great. I only wish I could ride it again, but they would have to get a sidecar fitted for me to be on it again.

"In Civvy Street I completely stripped back and rebuilt an M20.”

The visit of the bike brought back loads of memories for Lewis, who is also a member of Haslingden-based charity Veterans in Communities, and he shared those with the team from the VLHM who brought the bike over for him to see.

The operation, which has received funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, will follow the co-ordinates of Weir resident Lewis Banham’s historic liberation trip across Europe.

The bike, which they found in Northern Ireland, will be renovated and brought back to tip-top condition in readiness for their journey.

The group will be made up of 10 veterans and a film crew from Capture That in Leyland making the journey in June 2022.

One of the volunteers, Wayne Hester said: "We are hoping for him to be at the start and the finish of our huge project.

"His legacy will live on with the rest of his regimental dispatch riders though our full-length documentary which we will then travel to all our schools, community groups and corporate events, with a final filming ball function in March 2023 for all involved to come together to watch our two year documentary in style."