One of Bradford's oldest Second World War veterans will be joining in the city's Remembrance Day parade tomorrow.

Jim Hargreaves, who will be 87 in January, will be marching alongside other veterans from Centenary Square to the Cenotaph outside the Alhambra for a wreath-laying ceremony.

"I'll be here just like I have for almost every Remembrance Day since the end of the war," he said.

"It might be my last - I'm starting to hobble a bit now."

Mr Hargreaves, who was at El Alamein with a heavy aircraft gunfire crew, said his wartime memories are still as vivid as if it was yesterday.

"The noise, the terror, the horrors will always stay with me," he said.

"It's not a thing that can be forgotten, not ever."

Mr Hargreaves was only 18 when he was called up and brought back from a territorial army camp at Bridlington to be stationed at barracks at Belle Vue School.

Then he was sent to the south coast for the Battle of Britain and then being shipped abroad to fight.

"We thought the war was only going to last six months, but it didn't, it went on for years," he said.

"When I came back to Bradford even my own mother didn't recognise me.

"But I hadn't grown up. I'd had that taken from me, the social life, those experiences. It was a boring, horrible time in the war."

Mr Hargreaves has been active in Bradford's branch of the Royal British Legion since 1950 and is now its treasurer.

"When the legion first started we had 25 groups across the district," he said. "Now we have just nine.

"But the Poppy Appeal is still our big push and brings in much support. Last year we got £38,000, the year before it was £40,000 - hopefully this year it will be more.

"No one ever wants to experience war yet all these conflicts go on. It's a tragic waste of life.

"I wish our politicians would realise this and stop lives being taken away from us."

"Remembrance Day is as much for those who are still living and have lost than it is for those who gave their lives."

  • Local Remembrance Day services - Click here