A VETERAN of the Second World War and the general secretary of the UK's largest civil service union will appear at an NHS celebration in York next month.

Harry Leslie Smith survived the Great Depression by working as a child labourer and served in the RAF during the war, and, now 94, has published a number of books championing the welfare state.

Mark Serwotka is general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, and both are set to join organiser and York Central MP Rachael Maskell at York Labour Celebrates 70 Years of the NHS on Thursday, July 12.

Tickets are on sale now and cost £5, and the event will be held at The Principal in Station Road from 7pm.

To find out more or buy tickets, go to eventbrite.co.uk and search York Labour NHS.