Hero soldiers will not have to foot a penny for future commemorative and celebratory events after a fund was set up to honour their service.

The Government - shamed by veterans into paying for their travel to this year's D-Day ceremonies - has been humiliated again after businessman Johnny Gallagher and Second World War warrior Dorothea Barron set out to raise £1 million by VE Day. The pot called Our Heroes Fund will ensure Britain's dwindling band of brothers and sisters can continue to honour their fallen friends for as long as they are able to do so.

Johnny, 30, who promised to kick-start the fundraiser with a £20,000 donation, said: "A nation that fails to honour its heroes soon will have no heroes to honour.

"For far too long veterans have been let down or left in limbo. They should not have to worry if there will be enough funds for trips to pay their respects. It is heartbreaking because they are our heroes. I know it is an ambitious target but I believe if we all get behind this we can do it."

The extraordinary move comes after the Government sparked fury when it said it would not stump up cash to allow vets to return to the D-Day invasion beaches in Normandy this year.

It initially promised to fund bed and board for heroes travelling to the continent for the 80th anniversary of Dutch liberation from Nazi occupation on May 5 and the 81st anniversary of D-Day on June 6, but then refused, saying money would only be available for a handful of veterans to attend official VE Day anniversary events in the UK.

But after heroes called the move the "ultimate betrayal", the Government was forced into a humiliating about-turn, with Veterans Minister Al Carns issuing a statement saying financial assistance would be made available. But no apology was given for the distress it caused and no commitment has been given to fund attendance at commemorative events after this summer.

The money raised by Johnny and Dorothea will be directly passed to the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, which is funded entirely by donations . This year, an army of volunteer cabbies is hoping to take as many as 25 heroes back to Europe in an operation that will cost upwards of £100,000.

Johnny, one of the UK's most successful young entrepreneurs who made his first million by the age of 23, helped Dorothea, 100, who joined the Women's Royal Naval Service in 1943 at the age of 18, fulfil her dream of flying a Spitfire in an emotional tribute to her late husband who served in Bomber Command.

And he later helped raise more than £100,000 for the Taxi Charity to ensure heroes could return to Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day last year.

His efforts ensured warriors including Dorothea, and her friends including Les Hammond, Doug Baldwin, Don Turrell and Mervyn Kersh, were able to pay their respects on the beaches where giants fell in 1944.

Johnny's great grandfather Frank Guyll fought at the Battle of Somme in the First World War aged 20. His brother Stanley died fighting alongside him aged just 21. His grandfather Ernie Clark served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Korea and Malaya.

He is now determined to create a fund in perpetuity to cover the cost of organising and paying for transport, accommodation, carers, medical support, and welfare. All monies will be used by the charity, set up in 1948 by London cabbies, to finance future celebratory and commemorative events.

He said: "I was lucky my role model was my veteran grandfather, but not looking after or celebrating our heroes has been detrimental to society. The youth of today are searching for role models and nearly half of all young adults do not know what D-Day was. Little wins like this can help unite our once great country."

London cabbie Colin Mills, Chairman of the Taxi Charity, said: "Veterans themselves still regularly collect donations in London Underground stations - a reality that raises a troubling question: how can it be right that those who served this country so bravely are left to fund their own commemorations? These heroes deserve unwavering support. That should never be in question."

It is thought fewer than 200 British Second World War veterans are still alive, including just a handful who saw action on D-Day, and the three-month Battle of Normandy that followed.

The idea of a fund has the backing of Lord Richard Dannatt, former Chief of the General Staff and Chairman of the Normandy Memorial Trust, who said: "Our Second World War veterans won't be with us much longer so I think the Government ought to think very closely about whether it should provide a fund for the future, but the important thing is [money] has been made available for this year and let's celebrate that."

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