A CAREER soldier from Westbury has been awarded money through a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship to support service veterans.

Andrew Simkins OBE, 55, from Edington, near Westbury, left the army in January after 37 years of service and is using his grant to travel abroad to see how other countries cater for their veterans.

The Trust is a tribute to Sir Winston Churchill who died in 1965 and all British citizens resident in the UK are eligible for the annual awards.

Each fellow receives a grant, designed to give men and women from all backgrounds the chance to run overseas projects to make them more effective in their work.

He told the Wiltshire Times: "I knew about the Winston Churchill awards before and it seemed the right time to apply at the end of my service.

"I co-founded the 656 squadron Association, which looks after Netheravon squadron veterans and I am now the president.

"The squadron was formed as an RAF regiment and is now an army air core squadron. It served in Burma during the Second World War, then went onto serve in Malaysia for 15 years and was in the Falklands in 1982.

"The oldest member of our association is 99 and the youngest is in his mid 20s.

"I probably get more out of the association than I put in because I get an enormous amount of pleasure from my volunteer work.

"I wanted to see what other nations did with regards to their veterans.

"I'm going to the USA then down to Chile and then possibly to France depending on time.

"I will be visiting two of the large veteran organisations in the USA and then the equivalent organisation in Chile to compare and contrast.

"The aim is that the knowledge and experience you have gained can be contributed to your community at home."

Mr Simkins, who received an OBE in 2006 from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace for his volunteer and military work, will be leaving for his trip in the middle of August and is currently organising his itinerary.