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A 250-mile (400 km) fundraising desert trek by wounded ex-service personnel has been launched by Prince Harry. The Walk of Oman will see a team tow a provisions cart weighing 660lb (300kg) across the dunes of the Empty Quarter. The Duke of Sussex has been a patron of organising charity Walking with the Wounded since it was founded in 2010. He accompanied previous walks to the North and South Poles and in the UK but it is not yet known if he will join the three-week trek in November. The charity supports former members of the British armed forces to regain independence through employment.

The last surviving Battle of Britain ace pilot from World War Two has died aged 101. Wing Cdr Paul Farnes was among the 3,000 airmen - The Few - who defended England's skies in 1940. He died at his home in Hampshire on Tuesday morning, the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust said. Paying tribute, it described him as "distinguished man - who was generous with his time in support of the trust". The trust added Wing Cdr Farnes was the last member of The Few fit enough to be able to attend the aerial conflict's memorial day in 2019.

A new railcard for British military veterans is to be launched on Armistice Day. Due to be made available from 11 November, it will extend cheaper train travel to more than 830,000 veterans who do not qualify for existing discounts. The railcard will cost £21 for an introductory period, before the price is increased to £30. Holders will be able to save a third off most train tickets, although certain restrictions will apply.

Too many military personnel live in poor quality housing - despite the Ministry of Defence spending £135m on refurbishments, a watchdog has said. A Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report warned that without improvements the military risked undermining morale and losing highly skilled individuals. It said satisfaction "only rose slightly", despite the MoD refurbishing around 3,800 homes.

Some veterans will automatically be given one of the new cards, with all former personnel being able to apply for one by the end of 2019. Forces veterans can now apply for ID cards recognising that they have served in the military. From today (Monday), any personnel who have left the military since December 2018 will automatically be given one of the new ID cards, which will allow them to maintain a tangible link to their career in the forces.

“This is about the four men who died. They did not come back – they are still there.” The devastating moment mortar fire hit a line of troops – killing three soldiers on the battlefields of Normandy - is described in a veteran’s haunting memoir of D-Day in an account that paints a vivid picture of the reality of the historic assault. British Army veteran William Glen, who was then aged just 24, told how he was wounded when mortars hit, blasting him off the ground, while an 18-year-old comrade was ‘blown across a road’ and killed, as lines of British soldiers marched single file through the French countryside.

A D-Day veteran has told how he disobeyed his Captain’s orders to save a young soldier’s life as troops stormed the beaches of Normandy 75 years ago. Ron Wilson, now aged 94, is among up to 300 veterans, aged in their 90s and some aged over 100, who have set sail from Dover to France to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day operation. When he set sail 75 years ago, he played a part in the largest seaborne invasion in history that included a fleet of more than 7,000 vessels storming across the English Channel.

More Than Half Of Brits Wish They Had Asked Their Grandparents More About The War New research reveals that 46% of Brits are concerned that D-Day is at risk of being forgotten when the last veterans pass away.

A leaked memorandum warns that veterans should be offered "equal, rather than preferential, treatment" in relative to other groups. Theresa May personally blocked ministers from proposing a new legislation that could have protected veterans from prosecution for alleged offences during the Northern Ireland Troubles. In an official memo, sent on behalf of the Prime Minister, it sets out instructions that unsolved murders during the Troubles "should not contain" proposals for a statute of limitations on historic prosecutions of veterans.

It is after legislation was proposed to prevent the prosecution of some personnel, but that would not apply to Northern Ireland. MPs have hit out at the Government following reports that plans to protect armed forces veterans from prosecution will not apply to Northern Ireland. The Government faced accusations of making a "rancid backstairs deal" with Sinn Fein, as MPs lined up to call for better protection for ex-servicemen and women from "vexatious attacks" and being pursued through the courts. Mark Francois dubbed proposals to re-investigate every fatality during the Troubles from the late 1960s onwards as "IHAT mark two", after the controversial Iraq Historic Allegations Team investigation, which was shut down over fraudulent claims of criminality by soldiers.