A NAVY veteran from Rossendale is to make an emotional return to the scene of a wartime tragedy to pay his respects to fallen comrades.

Frank Dickinson, 80, from Ramsbottom, will return to Papua New Guinea on Sunday to pay tribute to more than 20 of his shipmates who died in a fuel fire on board the HMS Glenearn in April 1945.

He is one of thousands of World War Two veterans from across the country who are revisiting foreign shores during the 60th anniversary of the end of the war to honour those who died.

Funding for the trips has come from the multi-million pound Lottery Heroes Return Awards organised by the Big Lottery Fund.

Frank, of Bury New Road, will travel to the Lae War Cemetery in Papua New Guinea with his Paul accompanying him as a carer.

Paul said: "At Papua New Guinea there was an accident on board the Glenearn. They used high octane fuel and there was a leak and short-circuit which caused a bad fire. More than 20 people lost their lives, a lot of them dad's friends.

"Dad was lucky because the commander had sent him on an errand to the other side of the ship just before the fire. It happened just off the coast so the Glenearn called in at Lae and the dead sailors were buried there.

"Dad hasn't been back since. But he does talk about his memories.

"The British Legion has put him in touch with former colleagues and he is hoping to attend a reunion in the future."

Big Lottery Fund's head of north west region Michelle McNamee said: "With Remembrance Sunday now just a month away, this commemorative year marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II is drawing to a close.

"The warm public response to the scheme, and to the broader veterans' reunited programme, confirms the importance of the decision to create a programme which has helped to ensure that the lessons of World War Two will not be forgotten."