A WINSFORD pensioner plans to bring youngsters and elderly people in the town closer together by drawing on the themes of the brutally realistic war film Saving Private Ryan.

Clr Harry Mooney is offering his spare time to Winsford schools to give a talk on the atrocities of the Second World War and his memories of it.

The 78-year-old Winsford town councillor believes that the hard-hitting box-office hit will encourage greater respect for the elderly.

And he thinks that the younger generation should appreciate the sacrifices made for them by veterans who served in the war.

Harry, who is chairman of Vale Royal Pensioners' Association's Winsford branch, said: "The film shows just what people went through during the war and it also teaches the children of today to respect the elderly.

"They should understand how their elders suffered and how much they really owe to them.

"Saving Private Ryan has been a talking point recently and so I though it would be a good idea to invite some school children to a pensioners' association meeting.

"Here we could talk to a group of youngsters about the war and it would give them the opportunity to ask questions.

"Or alternatively a group of pensioners, including myself, could perhaps visit two or three schools and give a speech.

"My memories of the war are very vivid. It was brutal - something you will never forget. What many youngsters don't realise is that their grandfathers served in the war. They're part of history."

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