A FORMER soldier from York has returned to his barracks more than 70 years after he first signed up.

Alan Race, 91, trained at Imphal Barracks and served in and around York before he was sent to the North West Front of Afghanistan in 1941 during the Second Word War. He also served in India and Burma as part of the 14th Army. As part of his return visit to Imphal, Alan, who lives in Leeds, toured the barracks and was shown the site’s Kohima Museum, which commemorates the Battle of Kohima in 1944, for which he had driven supply trucks with the army.

The trip was set up for Alan by his son, Phil, who is studying for a history degree at Huddersfield University.

Phil said: “I lined it up after I took him to the Imperial War Museum in Manchester.

“I read about the Kohima Museum, and dad said that was something he’d like to do, so I arranged it for 71 years to the day after he signed up.

“It’s changed quite substantially since he was there, but I’ve never ever seen him walk so fast as he did that day. He was like a kid with a spring in his step.”

Alan wore his own medals during the visit, as well as the medals awarded to his father, who served in the First World War.

Phil said: “I’m immensely proud of both dad and his father, for obvious reasons.”