Former RAF bomber pilot Raymond Shaw, of Blackpool Road, Lea, Preston, carried out low-level attacks to support British troops in the Far East towards the end of the conflict.

Now, the 86-year-old will return to the Asian country in search of his old airstrip and explore a land he could not fully appreciate the first time round.

The great-grandfather, who flew a "Hurribomber", said: "It is emotional and very interesting.

"From my position, being a pilot and flying, I did not spend time on the ground even though I was actually at a low level.

"It will be an organised trip as that's the best way to see upper Burma, as there are a lot of minor roads."

Mr Shaw, who rose to the rank of Warrant Officer, joined the RAF in 1941 but was soon moved to train in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and was awarded his wings in 1943, before being posted out to India and Burma.

Soon, he was helping to push the enemy back with the 42 Squadron before the British captured Mandalay, the former Royal capital, in March 1945.

Mr Shaw was emotional when describing how he saw a colleague die in an attempted bombing of a key supply bridge and how he lost his cousin Ronald Smith, of the Suffolk Regiment, who was captured and later died on the infamous Burma Railway.

When asked if his life was threatened, he said: "Of course, low-level stuff is dangerous and you got hit.

"We went in and dropped bombs from about 50ft. My main job was to destroy their artillery.

"It's almost as if it happened to another person. It was a ferocious war – the Japanese didn't like us and we didn't like them."

The former pilot left the armed forces after the war aged 23, and went on to work for the Forestry Commission, before moving to Preston to work as a chemist at Springfields in Salwick until 1983.

The Lincoln-born fighter is returning to Burma for the second time since the war in September for 17 days, when he hopes to take a boat trip along the Irrawaddy River before visiting Mandalay.

He also hopes to go hunting for his old airstrip and visit the areas where he saw action.

The trip has come about thanks to the Heroes Return 2 lottery grant scheme, which is helping veterans revisit old battlegrounds.

Mr Shaw was successful in applying for £3,700 from the Big Lottery Fund and is set to travel along with his son Nigel, also ex-RAF.

Helen Bullough, of the Big Lottery Fund in the north-west, said: "I am delighted that we are again able to use lottery funds to support our veterans and help ensure that the lessons of the Second World War and the sacrifices made by the wartime generation are not forgotten."

The lottery fund's Heroes Return 2 programme is helping 94 veterans, widows, spouses and carers across the north-west return to old battlegrounds, with £62,000-worth of grants.

To find out more, phone the Heroes Return 2 helpline on 0845 0000121.

>> War veterans applauded in Preston parade

>> Vote in our latest web poll

News Review map: Relive the top headlines of the year so far