A REDDITCH man will be following in his father's footsteps when he takes part in a historic pilgrimage to Belgium.

The British Legion (as it was then known) organised for veterans and war widows to visit the battlefields of the Somme and Ypres before marching to the Menin Gate in Ypres on August 8 1928.

Exactly 90 years later, Philip Jarvis, chairman of the Redditch branch of the Royal British Legion, will be joining thousands of Legion representatives to recreate the 1928 Battlefields Pilgrimage.

Mr Jarvis will parade the branch standard and a wreath along the same route to the Menin Gate for the One Hundred Days ceremony to commemorate the last 100 days of WW1 and represent an entire generation that served while defending the country.

"It will be an emotional trip," he admitted.

"I will be going to the Somme battlefield where my father fought and visiting my uncle's grave at Klein-Zierst Raat, near Ypres."

Mr Jarvis, who flies out on August 5, added: "It will be quite a challenge - there will be more than 1,000 standard bearers and people laying wreaths.

"But I'm looking forward to it. It will be a great honour."

For more on the Great Pilgrimage 90, which takes place on August 8, go to britishlegion.org.uk.