Operation Market Garden: Bridges and Cemeteries

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In July 2025, I spent four days in a coach full of like-minded individuals as we travelled from Dunkirk to Brussels and then followed the 64-mile route from Joe’s Bridge, Neerpelt, Belgium, to the famous John Frost Bridge at Arnhem, Holland.

 Joe’s Bridge was the starting point of our Operation Market Garden tour, just as it had been the start line or centre line of advance for the Guards Armoured Division back in September 1944.

Operation Market Garden promised to end the war by Christmas 1944. Field Marshal Montgomery's audacious plan would drop 35,000 paratroopers (Three airborne divisions: the American 101st Division, the American 82nd Division, and the British 1st Airborne Division) across the Netherlands to capture key bridges. At the same time, British ground forces (30 Corps, spearheaded by the Guards Armoured Division) would advance 64 miles up a single highway, linking up with the airborne forces as they advanced. Furthest north, at the top of what would become known as ‘Hell’s Highway’, was the 1st Airborne Division, dropped and airlanded to the west of Arnhem. The British airborne troops expected to be relieved by the forward elements of 30 Corps within 48 hours of landing. Instead, what unfolded was nine days of desperate fighting that exemplified both the courage of ordinary British soldiers and the brutal, chaotic realities of war.

Joe's Bridge

Our battlefield tour began at Joe's Bridge in Lommel, Belgium, where Lieutenant Colonel John Ormsby Evelyn “J.O.E.” Vandeleur's Irish Guards achieved one of Market Garden's early victories. On 10 September 1944, a full week before the main operation, the 3rd Battalion Irish Guards launched a surprise assault that captured this strategic canal crossing intact.

The German defenders had prepared the wooden pontoon bridge for demolition, with two 88mm anti-tank guns positioned nearby and explosive charges wired for detonation. In his memoir, A Soldier’s Story (1967), J.O.E. Vandeleur recounts what happened:

At Exel, we found an unfinished road running due north to the Escaut Canal. It approached the canal in the shape of a “T”. The left half of the top of the “T” could not be seen from the Escaut Bridge. Halfway down the left half of the “T” stood a tall factory. We hid the head of the column behind the factory and ran upstairs, where we obtained a perfect view of the bridge. Incidentally, a large staff car full of German officers tried to cross us on the way up. We killed them and captured their maps. From the top window of the factory, every detail of the German defences could be clearly seen. At the top left corner of the “T”, there was a ‘jink’ in the road. This ‘jink’ was very important, because it denied the German 88 mm. guns a clear view of us until we were within 100 yards of the bridge. The problem now was, would the Germans blow the bridge or not?

We therefore decided to put it to the test. The plan was a very simple one. David Peel’s squadron was to send one troop of tanks commanded by Duncan Lampard up to the corner of the jink. This was to be accompanied by a platoon of the 3rd Battalion, commanded by John Stanley-Clark. This was to be the assault force with Michael Dudley’s company and the remainder of David Peel’s squadron engaging the enemy with point-blank fire for twenty minutes. It was to be a shooting match of twenty minutes’ duration. If, at the end of the twenty minutes, the bridge had not been blown, John Stanley-Clark and Duncan Lampard were to charge, followed by Hutton (R.E.) and six Guardsmen immediately to remove the explosive charges. We had no artillery support and were fifteen miles north of brigade headquarters, so there was no wireless touch. The signal for the assault was to be a green Very light.

It came off perfectly.

The structure, today known as Joe’s Bridge, was rebuilt after the war. The Irish Guards Memorial is situated on the northern bank and adjacent to Barrier Park.

Advancing up Hell’s Highway

On 17 September 1944, the seven-mile advance from Joe's Bridge to Valkenswaard, became the first test of Operation Market Garden's ambitious timetable.

The Irish Guards faced a brutal tactical reality: advance on a single road through terrain generally unsuitable for tanks. Dense woodland and marshy Dutch polder made deploying tanks off-road extremely difficult, and forced the Irish Guards to advance on a ‘one tank front’. The terrain proved a gift to the German defenders, who prepared a devastating ambush. In just two minutes, nine British Sherman tanks were knocked out.

Once again, J.O.E. Vandeleur describes what happened:

Zero hour was to be at 1435, and the start line was the Escaut Bridge. For this battle, we were supported by 350 guns and eight squadrons of Typhoon fighters of the Royal Air Force, who were to maintain a cab-rank of three aircraft immediately above us, ready to strike. The artillery was to fire a barrage, rolling at a speed of 200 yards a minute. Our tanks were marked with yellow streamers to identify them to the airmen. I was provided with an armoured signal tender for direct communication with the pilots in the sky. We were also given purple smoke shells to fire and identify targets for the airmen.

J.O.E. Vandeleur continues:

At zero hour, Keith Heathcote, commanding the leading tank, gave the order ‘Driver-Advance’ and he drove up to the edge of the barrage. Twenty-five minutes later, the rear half of the leading squadron (Mick O’Cock) and the leading half of No. 2 Squadron were knocked out, leaving Mick isolated and alone on the road. Luckily, Sergeant Cowan knocked out a self-propelled gun which had Mick in its sights. We had an armoured bulldozer high up in the column, ready to push aside knocked-out tanks and to help us cross a ditch just south of Valkenswaard.

No. 2 Squadron then took the lead, and Squadron Sergeant-Major Parkes was immediately killed. Duncan Lampard, who had distinguished himself at the Escaut Bridge, was wounded at the same time. I placed my headquarters behind the 2nd Squadron, which was fortunate on this occasion, as it gave us a ‘cushion’. Previously, we always moved at the tail of the leading squadron. I had a complicated wireless net to deal with. I had to speak to the pilots in the sky, telling them when to come in with their rockets and explaining targets to them. I had to keep my pulse on the artillery plan and call the barrage back when things were going badly. We had to issue orders to both battalions and feed information back. I insisted on the Air Force officer keeping the door of his tender open so that I could speak to him. He had never seen a ground battle before, and the afternoon’s affair must have been an eye-opener for him.

Division asked us how the battle was going. Denis lifted his microphone and merely said ‘Listen’. The noise was as if all hell had been opened; the crash of bursting shells and the screaming of the rockets as they left their cradles in the attacking aircraft.

Walking through Valkenswaard War Cemetery, I found the graves of Squadron Sergeant Major William Parkes and his comrades, men who died in those opening moments of the ground assault. Six unidentified Irish Guards lie within the cemetery. For those unfamiliar with the realities of tank warfare, when a vehicle was hit and caught fire, the crew usually had only seconds to escape the conflagration. Those crewmen who failed to escape were usually burned beyond recognition.

The cemetery, nestled in a pine forest between Valkenswaard and Westerhoven, contains 220 graves. The peaceful setting belies the violence that brought these soldiers to their deaths. Local Dutch families have adopted individual graves through the ‘Foundation Stichting 40-45’ program, decorating headstones and ensuring the soldiers’ sacrifices are not forgotten.

The ambush at Valkenswaard caused the first of many delays in the ‘Garden’ element of the operation. The Guards arrived in town during the evening instead of the planned early afternoon. Had the Irish Guards continued to Eindhoven in darkness, Market Garden’s timetable might have been preserved. Instead, the decision to spend the night in Valkenswaard contributed to delays that ultimately doomed the operation. However, it was a standard operating procedure that tanks ‘harboured’ overnight for maintenance, refuelling and rearming.

According to A History of the Irish Guards in the Second World War (1949), the first day’s fighting cost the 2nd Battalion nine tanks, eight men killed and several wounded. The 3rd Battalion lost seven killed and nineteen wounded. In the little cemetery outside the town are buried S.S.M. Parkes, Lance-Sergeant J. Waters, Guardsmen McD. Ackers, M. Delaney, W. Moore, J. Johnson, N. Malton and T. Watson.

The Day I Met Jackal

Our tour itinerary next took us to the vast German War Cemetery at Ysselsteyn before visiting the impressive Overloon War Museum. Within the museum resides a very special vehicle, an Mk. V Churchill tank of B Squadron, 4th (Tank) Battalion, Coldstream Guards, nicknamed Jackal. The tank was abandoned after hitting a mine during Operation Aintree (Battle of Overloon, 30 September to 18 October 1944). Two of the five crew were killed, Guardsmen Gordon Wright and Robert Silman, who are buried in Overloon War Cemetery, not far from the museum. Bob Dare, the tank’s driver, helped the other two crew members to safety. Bob and Jackal’s story is retold in my book, A History of the Guards Armoured Formations 1941-1945.

The Bridge at Grave

On 17 September, Lieutenant John “Jacko” Thompson of Easy Company, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division achieved one of the operation’s greatest successes when his small group of 16 men captured the strategically vital bridge over the Maas River at Grave. Although his company had been scattered during the parachute drop and landed far from their target, Thompson decided not to wait for reinforcements and immediately stormed the bridge, achieving complete surprise and capturing it undamaged. Thompson was wounded twice during the war and was decorated for his bravery with both the Bronze and Silver Stars. After the war, he returned to a career as a professional baseball player. The bridge remained crucial for Allied logistics throughout the war. In 2004, the crossing was renamed the John S. Thompson Bridge in honour of his decisive leadership and courage.

The Capture of the Nijmegen Road Bridge

For anyone who has seen the film, A Bridge Too Far (1977), you would be forgiven for believing Hollywood star Robert Redford captured the impressive Nijmegen road bridge, almost single-handedly, in the guise of Major Julian Cook. The truth is somewhat different, as any Grenadier Guardsman will happily tell you.

The war diary of the 2nd (Armoured) Battalion, Grenadier Guards for 20 September 1944 recounts the day’s events more prosaically than Director Richard Attenborough’s film:

Plan arranged with AIRBORNE FORCES to clear part of the town near the main road bridge, 1Bn AIRBORNE (AMERICAN) and the Bn Gp. Progress slow but sure and vicinity of bridge eventually reached at 1700 hrs with light casualties mainly through snipers. At 1900 hrs, a Tp of tanks was successfully rushed across the bridge, encountering at least one 88mm and passing through infantry on the far side, losing two tanks, one only temporarily, eventually linking up with AIRBORNE FORCES on the other side. Bridge consolidated by 2200 hrs.

The film is intended as entertainment rather than a historical documentary, so it glosses over the fact that the Americans had not secured either the road or rail crossings at Nijmegen by the time the Guards Armoured Division arrived. As a result, instead of passing over the road bridge and continuing to advance the ten miles to Arnhem, the Guards found themselves embroiled in the intense fighting that was ongoing in the town. In John Frost’s book, A Drop Too Many (1983), he cites the failure to secure the Nijmegen bridge on day one of the operation as perhaps the worst mistake of a tactical plan that was riddled with holes.

Crossing the Waal

The Grenadier Guards’ capture of the bridge required a coordinated attack with American paratroopers in one of the war’s most daring river crossings. Supported by the Irish Guards’ guns, Major Julian Cook’s 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment made a daylight crossing of the 400-yard-wide Waal River in 26 flimsy canvas boats. The first wave suffered over 50 per cent casualties as German machine guns and artillery poured fire into the boats. Major Cook, a devout Catholic, recited “Hail Mary” prayers to encourage his men as they used rifle butts for oars.

Meanwhile, three columns of Grenadier Guards attacked from the south. Lieutenant Colonel Edward Goulburn’s forces coordinated with the Americans in a complex pincer movement. At around 1800 hrs, after the 504th PIR had secured the north end of both bridges, Sergeant Peter Robinson, 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, led four Sherman tanks in a desperate charge across the road bridge. For his bravery, Robinson was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, and, later, a grateful city granted him the Freedom of Nijmegen. Lieutenant Colonel Giles Vandeleur, commanding the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards, and cousin of J.O.E. Vandeleur, witnessed the ‘Waal Crossing’ and remarked that it was one of the most courageous sights he had ever seen.

Standing on the Nijmegen road bridge today, you can imagine Robinson’s gunner engaging the German 88mm anti-tank gun in a brief but decisive duel. But by the time the bridge was secured, Market Garden was already 36 hours behind schedule. Early the next morning, Lieutenant Colonel John Frost would surrender his hold on the north end of the Arnhem bridge.

Arnhem Oosterbeek Cemetery

On the third day of our tour, we visited some of the Drop Zones and Landing Zones near Arnhem, seeing Ginkel Heath and the memorials there, the Glider Memorial at Wolfheze, and the original Airborne monument at Heelsum. Next, we stopped at the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, where the dead from Arnhem are buried.

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery contains the graves of most of those killed during the September landings, and many of those killed in later fighting in the area.

There are now 1,684 Commonwealth servicemen buried or commemorated in the cemetery. 243 of the burials are unidentified, and special memorials commemorate two casualties. There are also 79 Polish, three Dutch and four non-war (including three former Commission employees) graves in the cemetery.

For Valour

The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious military decoration awarded to British and Commonwealth personnel for acts of extreme valour. Notably, the cemetery includes the graves of Flight Lieutenant David Lord, Captain Lionel Queripel, and Lieutenant John Grayburn, all of whom were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for their bravery during the battle. The cemetery also commemorates Lance Sergeant John Baskeyfield.

While defending the Oosterbeek perimeter three days into the battle, Baskeyfield commanded a pair of anti-tank guns that destroyed several enemy tanks before the crews were killed. Baskeyfield subsequently fired the guns alone before he, too, was killed. His body was not identified after the war, and he has no known grave. The last paragraph of his VC’s citation states:

The superb gallantry of this N.C.O. is beyond praise. During the remaining days at Arnhem, stories of his valour were a constant inspiration to all ranks. He spurned danger, ignored pain and, by his supreme fighting spirit, infected all who witnessed his conduct with the same aggressiveness and dogged devotion to duty which characterised his actions throughout.

Every September, a joint Anglo-Dutch Service of Remembrance is held at the Oosterbeek War Cemetery, where local school children each lay a flower on the grave of a serviceman.  

The General is Missing

In the afternoon, we travelled to the Hartenstein Hotel, Airborne Headquarters in 1944. Here we toured the superb museum with its extended displays and life-size recreations of the battle. A handful of us also walked the Oosterbeek defensive perimeter with battlefield guide Andy Ingham. For those not familiar with how the battle unfolded, when the attempt to capture Arnhem Bridge failed, Major General Roy Urquhart, commander of the 1st Airborne Division, ordered his forces into a defensive perimeter around Oosterbeek village, which is located about seven miles west of Arnhem. For six days, the airborne troops held this shrinking perimeter against overwhelming German forces in what became known as “the Cauldron.”

Next, we visited Oosterbeek Church and St Elisabeth’s Hospital. We also walked the nearby streets, retracing the steps taken by the “missing general”. At the start of the Battle of Arnhem, General Urquhart and Brigadier Lathbury went missing for some time. This created a dangerous command vacuum during the critical early stages of the operation, from Monday, 18 September, to the early hours of Tuesday, 19 September. Urquhart left his headquarters and went forward to assess the situation after radio communications failed. Lathbury was wounded, and Urquhart took refuge in the attic of a house near the hospital. As you approach Arnhem from Oosterbeek, the area around the hospital forms a bottleneck with the river and railway lines forming the sides, and where, in 1944, the Germans were quickly able to form blocking lines. The proximity of the railway marshalling yards meant that German reinforcements arriving from the Reich could immediately be fed into the battle. However, John Frost and a composite force of the 2nd and 3rd Parachute Battalions, Reconnaissance and Airborne Engineers made it through to the north end of the Arnhem road bridge before the Germans put a stopper in the bottle.

The John Frost Bridge

Our tour ended at the iconic Arnhem road bridge, or the John Frost Bridge (John Frostbrug) as it is known today. The actual road bridge defended by Frost’s 2nd Parachute Battalion was destroyed by the Allies a month after Operation Market Garden. Initially, the airborne troops held the north end of the bridge into Arnhem town and the surrounding buildings.

For three days and four nights, the lightly equipped airborne troops held off a superior German force that was armed with tanks, heavy artillery, and mortars. Eventually, the defenders' ammunition, food, and water ran low, forcing them to surrender, although some managed to evade capture. Of the 750 men who reached the bridge, 81 were killed, and virtually all the rest were wounded.

In 1977, the bridge was renamed for John Frost, despite his initial reluctance. He felt it was “too much of an honour” since they had lost the battle. Veteran Freddie Gough convinced him the accolade was deserved. Today’s bridge, rebuilt in 1948, closely resembles the original. However, due to urban development in the Arnhem area, the John Frost Bridge was not used in the filming of A Bridge Too Far. The scenes set around the Arnhem bridge were shot in Deventer, northeast of Arnhem.

The Cost of Market Garden

In all, the British 1st Airborne Division took just under 12,000 men into Arnhem. By Monday, 25 September, 1,485 men were dead, and around 6,500 were taken prisoner, and many of them were wounded. The RAF lost 68 aircraft shot down and around 500 aircrew killed. Due to incomplete records, German losses can only be estimated, and numbers vary between 2,500 and 5,000 casualties for the fighting around Arnhem. The evacuation of the Oosterbeek pocket saw 2,398 men escape capture. Around 450 Dutch civilians were also killed during the operation. Another 100,000 Dutch civilians were forcibly evicted from their homes in the Lower Rhine area by the Germans immediately after the fighting concluded. It is estimated that an additional 18,000 Dutch civilians died from malnutrition due to German reprisals, which included cutting the population's rations during what became known as the “Hunger Winter” of 1944/45.

Field Marshal Montgomery claimed that Market Garden was ninety per cent successful. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands said that his country could ill afford another Montgomery success. In truth, for all the heroics and loss of life, the operation was a strategic failure.

The Irish Guards’ swift capture of Joe’s Bridge, their costly advance along Hell’s Highway, the Grenadier Guards’ seizure of the Nijmegen road bridge, and the doomed but heroic defence at Arnhem represent the finest traditions of British military service.

Final Thoughts

Today, these sites are accessible to anyone seeking to understand pivotal moments in European history. Museums provide context, cemeteries offer reflection, and the surviving bridges and battlefields let visitors walk in the footsteps of a remarkable generation.

The courage of the airborne forces, aircrew, and soldiers of 30 Corps during those nine days in September 1944 deserves to be remembered not just for their tactical achievements, but for their embodiment of duty, courage, sacrifice, and camaraderie under the most extreme circumstances.

These historic sites remind us that behind every strategic decision and tactical manoeuvre were ordinary people, many barely out of their teens, who answered their nation’s call and paid the ultimate price in the fight against Nazi tyranny. In visiting these places, we hope to honour their memory and ensure their sacrifices will never be forgotten.

Further Reading

Much ink has been spilt on the subject of Operation Market Garden and the reasons for its failure. Amongst the books I have recently read on the subject are Arnhem by Major General R.E. Urquhart (1958), A Drop Too Many by Major General John Frost (1983), A Tour of the Arnhem Battlefields by John Waddy (1999), Arnhem 1944 by William F. Buckingham (2002), and Arnhem Black Tuesday by Al Murray (2024). I would also recommend It Never Snows in September: The German View of Market-Garden and the Battle of Arnhem September 1944 by Robert Kershaw (2008) and The Last German Victory: Operation Market Garden 1944 by Aaron Bates (2021).

Photographs & Sketches

Items in order of appearance

Gallery 1: Joe’s Bridge

Portrait of Lieutenant Colonel John Ormsby Evelyn “J.O.E.” Vandeleur, Irish Guards.

A Sherman tank of the 2nd (Armoured) Battalion Irish Guards, Guards Armoured Division, crossing the Meuse-Escaut Canal, Neerpelt, during Operation Market Garden, September 1944. George Rodger, Photographer, LIFE Magazine Archives.

Joe’s Bridge, July 20215, by the author.

Irish Guards Group memorial, Joe’s Bridge, July 2025, by the author.

Gallery 2: Hell’s Highway

IWM (Imperial War Museum), BU 925, Sherman tanks of the Irish Guards Group advance past others which were knocked out earlier during Operation 'Market-Garden', 17 September 1944.

IWM, BU 926, A Sherman Firefly tank of the Irish Guards Group advances past Sherman tanks knocked out earlier during Operation 'Market-Garden', 17 September 1944.

Guardsman William Gill Moore died during the ambush of this tank. The Sherman commanded by Lance Sergeant Dave Roper was struck by a Panzerfaust on 17th September 1944 during Operation Market Garden. Copyright “De bevrijding in Beeld" / "Vantilt fragma”.

IWM, BU 927, Squadron Sergeant Major William John Parkes of No. 3 Squadron, 2nd Irish Guards, killed when his Sherman tank was knocked out during the advance towards Eindhoven as part of Operation Market Garden. Photo taken on 17th September 1944 by Sergeant Carpenter, No. 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit.

Front page of The Illustrated London News of September 30, 1944. The village square of Valkenswaard, Sherman tank, “Snow White”, Brigade HQ, 5th Guards (Armoured) Brigade. Nationaal Archief (National Archives of the Netherlands).

Gallery 3: Valkenswaard War Cemetery

Headstones:

• Guardsman W. Ackers, Irish Guards

• Guardsman, Michael Dee, Irish Guards

• L. Cpl. M.J. Delaney, Irish Guards

• Squadron Sergeant Major (SSM) William John Parkes, Irish Guards

• L. Sgt. John Watters, Irish Guards

Unidentified Irish Guardsman, known only to God.

Irish Guardsmen, Valkenswaard War Cemetery, all photographs by the author.

Gallery 4: Jackal

IWM, B 10809, A Churchill tank of 6th Guards Tank Brigade supporting infantry of 3rd Division attacking Overloon in the Netherlands, 14 October 1944.

IWM, BU 1232, Churchill tanks of the 6th Guards Tank Brigade lay a smokescreen during the advance on Venraij, 17 October 1944.

Charlie Trumpess with Mk. V Churchill tank of B Squadron, 4th (Tank) Battalion, Coldstream Guards, 6th Guards (Tank) Brigade, named Jackal, Overloon War Museum, July 2025, by the author.

British Churchill tank named Jackal formed part of the staff platoon, 2nd Squadron, 4th Battalion, Coldstream Guards, 6th Guards Tank Brigade that supported the infantry attack on Overloon – by the author.

Gallery 5: Grave

VIRIN: 440917-A-ZZ999-791, U.S. Department of War, US Army paratroopers are dropped near Grave, Netherlands, while livestock graze near gliders that landed earlier. Operation Market Garden.

John S. Thompsonbrug over the river Maas at Grave, July 2025, by the author.

Sketch of the Grave Bridge, September 1944, Sergeant Charles Murrell, Welsh Guards. Courtesy of the Welsh Guards.

Cyclists on the John S. Thompsonbrug over the Maas River at Grave, by Havang(nl).

The 82nd Airborne Memorial, beside the John S. Thompson bridge over the Maas River between Grave and Nederasselt, Netherlands, July 2025, by the author.

Gallery 6: Nijmegen Bridge

Cromwell tank of the Welsh Guards, Guard Armoured Division passes the "Schoonoord" corn mill in Alverna, Wijchen municipality near Nijmegen during Operation Market Garden. Nationaal Archief (National Archives of the Netherlands).

American paratroopers advance while being attacked by German anti-aircraft fire. According to the caption, the location is Arnhem, but it is more likely Nijmegen. The photograph is dated 10 September 1944, which must be a mistake. The picture is attributed to the US Army Signal Corps. Nationaal Archief (National Archives of the Netherlands).

IWM, EA 44531, tanks of the 2nd (Armoured) Battalion, Irish Guards, Guards Armoured Division, British XXX Corps cross the road bridge at Nijmegen during its capture. Operation Market Garden.

Battalion crosses the Nijmegen Bridge, 22nd September 1944, sketch by Sergeant Charles Murrell, Welsh Guards. Courtesy of the Welsh Guards.

Two sketches of the Nijmegen Bridge or Grenadiers Bridge by Sergeant Charles Murrell, Welsh Guards, 3rd November 1944. Courtesy of the Welsh Guards.

The Waalbrug or Nijmegen Road Bridge over the River Waal, July 2025, by the author.

Gallery 7: Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery

The memorial on Ginkel Heath, Drop zone “Y”, where the 4th Para Brigade landed on Monday, 18th September 1944, during Operation Market Garden, by the author.

Gravestones of the fallen, Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, by the author.

In the centre of the photograph, Lt. Col. Sir William Richard De B. Des Voeux, BT, Grenadier Guards, 156th Battalion, 4th Para Brigade. Household Brigade Lodge No 2614 website.

The gravestone of Lt. Col. Sir William Richard De B. Des Voeux, BT, Grenadier Guards, 156th Battalion, 4th Para Brigade, by the author.

John "Jack" Grayburn was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions with the 2nd Parachute Battalion at the Arnhem Bridge.

The gravestone of Lieutenant J.H. " Jack" Grayburn, VC, Parachute Regiment, Army Air Corps, by the author.

Lance Sergeant John Daniel Baskeyfield, VC. Gun Commander, 2 Anti-Tank Platoon, Support Company, 2nd (Airborne) Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment,  Battle of Arnhem. His body was never identified. Digitally enhanced portrait by the author.

Gallery 8: The General is Missing

IWM, BU 1136, Major-General Roy Urquhart DSO and Bar, commander of the British 1st Airborne Division during Operation Market Garden, plants the Airborne flag outside his headquarters (Hotel Hartenstein). By Smith, D M (Sgt), Army Film and Photographic Unit.

Rear of the Airborne Museum Hartenstein, Oosterbeek, July 2025, by the author.

A diorama of the 1st Airborne Division HQ and signals featuring a depiction of Major-General Roy Urquhart, Airborne Museum Hartenstein, Oosterbeek, July 2025, by the author.

Original wallpaper from the battle for Arnhem, inscribed “Never Surrender, Fuck the Gerry’s, 1st Airborne Division” and showing a tally of German soldiers killed. The photo also shows a No. 4 Lee Enfield rifle with a telescopic sight. Airborne Museum Hartenstein, Oosterbeek, by the author.

IWM,  British paratroopers prepare for yet another attack on the Oosterbeek Perimeter.

Photo of a 3-inch mortar team, 1st Borders, defending the Oosterbeek perimeter, 200m from the Hartenstein Hotel (photo taken on the spot where the original was taken), by the author.

The ter Horst family home, which served as a Regimental Aid Post, inset, a picture of Kate ter Horst and her MBE medal, Oosterbeek. Known to the British as the “Angel of Arnhem”, she famously tended to hundreds of wounded and dying airborne troops during the Battle of Arnhem. By the author.

The Old Church (Oude Kerk) in Oosterbeek dates back to the 10th Century and is possibly the oldest church in the Netherlands. As the Oosterbeek Perimeter shrank, the church became a stronghold for the airborne troops, by the author.

A view of the Arnhem railway bridge from the rear of the Old Church, July 2025, by the author.

Our tour group outside the former St Elizabeth Hospital in Arnhem. The site was used as a military hospital by both sides during the fighting. Famously, Major-General Urquhart became trapped in the attic of  No. 14 Zwarteweg, which is located to the rear of the hospital. Our battlefield guide, Andy Ingham, took the photo in July 2025.

Gallery 9: The John Frost Bridge

Girders, the John Frost Bridge, July 2025, by the author.

IWM, MH 2061, aerial view of the bridge over the Neder Rijn, Arnhem; British troops and destroyed German armoured vehicles are visible at the north end of the bridge.

Lieutenant Colonel John Frost led the 2nd Parachute Battalion to capture the northern end of the Arnhem Bridge and was later promoted to the rank of Major General.

IWM, HU 2127, the Arnhem Bridge after Frost's force had been overrun and the road cleared. Notice the destroyed buildings on the right.

Photo of the steps leading down to the riverbank, the north end of the Arnhem road bridge. Battlefield guide, Andy Ingham, holds a picture taken from precisely the same spot after the battle, showing the surrounding devastation. By the author.

Arnhem. War damage 1944/1945. View from the Sabelspoort towards the Grote Kerk (Great Church), 1945, Nationaal Archief (National Archives of the Netherlands).

The destroyed Rhine bridge (Arnhem road bridge) is seen from under the nearby temporary Bailey bridge, 1945, Nationaal Archief (National Archives of the Netherlands).

On 7 October, the Arnhem bridge was bombed and destroyed by B-26 Marauders of the 344th Bomb Group, USAAF. The buildings of Arnhem were bombarded by the Allies over the next few months and suffered further during the Liberation of Arnhem in April 1945.

Aerial view of the devastation in Arnhem's city centre. Above, the Rhine Bridge is under construction; the temporary Bailey Bridge has already been removed. To the left of the church is the town hall, partially preserved, 1946, Nationaal Archief (National Archives of the Netherlands).

The John Frost Bridge from the north bank of the lower Rhine, July 2025, by the author.

Charlie Trumpess standing on the north ramp of the John Frost Bridge, Arnhem, July 2025.

The Bridge, July 2025, by the author.

Gallery 10: The Cost of Market Garden

The temporary graves of two British paratroopers at a kilometre marker with the inscription “Arnhem 6”, 1945, Nationaal Archief (National Archives of the Netherlands).

Commemoration on 17 September at the Airborne Cemetery in Oosterbeek. The graves of the British paratroopers who fell in September 1944 are being specially cared for by Oosterbeek schoolchildren, 15 September 1955, Nationaal Archief (National Archives of the Netherlands).

Since the end of the war, school children in Oosterbeek, specifically primary school children, have participated in what has become an annual tradition of laying flowers at the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery to honour the heroes of the Battle of Arnhem.

References

Airborne Assault: ParaData - A living history of The Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces

J.O.E. Vandeleur, A Soldier's Story, privately printed for the author by Gale & Polden, 1967

Major D.J.L. Fitzgerald, History of the Irish Guards In the Second World War, published by Aldershot Gale and Polden Ltd, 1949

National Army Museum, Archive Reference, 2016-10-23-76, Papers of Lt Col Sir James Newton Rodney Moore, War Diary, 2nd (Armoured) Bn Grenadier Guards, 20 September 1944

Major General John Frost, A Drop Too Many, published by Pen & Sword Military, Kindle Edition, 2019

Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 2024, A Visitor's Guide to the Best Arnhem WW2 Sites, URL: https://www.cwgc.org/our-work/blog/a-visitors-guide-to-the-best-arnhem-ww2-sites/, Accessed 15 August 2025

Cornelius Ryan Collection of World War II Papers (Digital), Cornelius Ryan WWII papers, box 115, folder 36: Giles A. Vandeleur, page. 2

Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 2023, Lance Serjeant John Daniel Baskeyfield VC, URL: https://www.cwgc.org/stories/stories/lance-serjeant-john-daniel-baskeyfield-vc/, Accessed 16 August 2025

Imperial War Museum, The Story Of Operation 'Market Garden' In Photos, URL: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-story-of-operation-market-garden-in-photos, Accessed 19 August 2025

WartimeNI, Scott Edgar, Operation Market Garden: A Bridge Too Far, URL: https://archives.wartimeni.com/article/operation-market-garden-a-bridge-too-far/, Accessed 12 September 2025

Operation Anthropoid: Heroes Who Refused to Surrender

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Authors: Martina Gregorcová, Art of Your Travel, and Charlie Trumpess, The War Years

On 30 September 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned to Heston Aerodrome brandishing a piece of paper and declaring he had achieved “peace for our time.” This followed the Munich Crisis, when the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolph Hitler, threatened to invade Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain visited Germany three times in an attempt to avert war. The resulting Munich Agreement, signed by Germany, Britain, France, and Italy, gave Hitler the Sudetenland, a border region of Czechoslovakia containing about three million ethnic Germans.

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British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, after landing at Heston Aerodrome following his meeting with Adolf Hitler and the signing of the infamous Munich Agreement. This photograph , D 2239, comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums.

The agreement represented the climax of Britain’s appeasement policy, which sought to avoid war by making territorial concessions to Nazi Germany. Czechoslovakia was entirely betrayed in this process, with Czech diplomats excluded from the negotiations and barred from the conference room at Hitler's insistence.

Czech leader Edvard Beneš warned that losing the heavily fortified Sudetenland would leave his nation defenceless. Nevertheless, Britain and France forced Czechoslovakia to choose between resisting Germany alone or submitting to territorial dismemberment. Hitler claimed the Sudetenland was his “last territorial demand in Europe,” but these promises proved worthless.

On 15 March 1939, Nazi Germany violated the Munich Agreement and occupied the remainder of Czechoslovakia, establishing the Protectorates of Bohemia and Moravia. Slovakia became a puppet state under the leadership of pro-Nazi Jozef Gašpar Tiso. Britain’s appeasement policy had disastrously failed, and a full-scale European war began when Germany invaded Poland.

Into Exile

On 5 October 1938, Beneš was forced to resign. He went into exile in Britain, where he organised the Czechoslovak National Liberation Committee, which declared itself the Provisional Government of Czechoslovakia the following year. In July 1940, the UK officially recognised the Czechoslovak government-in-exile, with Jan Šrámek as prime minister and Beneš as president. Beneš started working with British military intelligence in return for concessions to his government-in-exile.

In 1941, Edvard Beneš and František Moravec, working with MI6 and the Special Operations Executive (SOE), planned Operation Anthropoid to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, the Deputy Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia.

Three Parachute Drops, One Priority: Payback

On 29 December 1941, a freezing night over occupied Bohemia and Moravia, three parachute teams dropped from a Halifax bomber toward their homeland. Operations Silver A and Silver B were tasked with restoring underground communications, supporting the resistance and sabotage. A third team carried the top-priority mission, Operation Anthropoid, a direct strike at Reinhard Heydrich, Hitler’s executioner in Prague. The brief was brutal and clear: payback for Nazi terror.

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Reinhard Heydrich in the uniform of an SS-Gruppenführer ca. 1940/1941 by Heinrich Hoffmann. Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1969-054-16, recoloured.

The Target

On 28 September 1941, Reinhard Heydrich arrived at Prague Castle. He was replacing Konstantin von Neurath, whom Hitler and Himmler agreed had been too lenient in his approach to the Czechs. Within five days of his arrival, Heydrich proclaimed martial law and ordered the execution of 142 people. Known by various nicknames such as the “Blonde Beast” and “Butcher of Prague”, SS-General Reinhard Heydrich ruled the Protectorate through a calculated campaign of fear. Backed by Hitler, he moved to crush the Czech resistance, decapitate the leadership, and break the nation’s spirit. He banned the Sokol movement and sent its leaders to the Mauthausen concentration camp.

The Sokol movement was a popular gymnastics movement that promoted health and well-being, and it was also linked to the promotion of Czech patriotism and nationalism. The movement was brutally suppressed and later banned during the Nazi occupation. According to Heydrich: “Czechs need to know who is the boss here… Those who adapt will be Germanised; those who won’t will be sent to concentration camps.” Anthropoid set out to end the experiment.

A Mission to Live in History

From London, the operation’s planners demanded more than an assassination; they wanted to make a statement that would resound in history. The Munich Agreement remained in effect, and the exiled government needed dramatic action to prove that the Czechs and Slovaks were contributing to the Allied cause. The operation had to break the perception of Czech passivity and defeatism and show the world that resistance continued. More crucially, it aimed to make it politically impossible for Britain to forge another peace deal with Germany and betray Czech interests once again.

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Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík in Britain, 1941—photographed before deployment on Operation Anthropoid.

A Belated Christmas Gift

After being dropped by parachute into occupied Bohemia, the SEO trained Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš moved to Prague. In preparation for their attack, weeks of surveillance were conducted: routes were timed, corners were measured, and rehearsals were repeated. The local resistance opened safe houses, passed messages, forged papers and whispered, with pride, that the paratroopers were a “belated Christmas gift that fell from the sky.” Hope had returned to a beaten city.

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Heydrich’s Mercedes 320 Cabriolet after the blast at Libeň—shattered windscreen and torn bodywork from the 27 May 1942 Anthropoid attack.

Heydrich’s Curve

On the morning of 27 May 1942, Heydrich started his daily commute to his headquarters at Prague Castle. During the journey, Heydrich’s open-topped Mercedes 320 Cabriolet had to slow down at the tight bend in Libeň, known today as Heydrich’s Curve. Jozef Gabčík stepped into the road with a Sten submachine gun. At point-blank range, Gabčík could not miss, but when he squeezed the trigger, the weapon jammed and failed to fire. Rather than accelerate out of danger, Heydrich ordered his driver to stop. As Heydrich drew his pistol, Jan Kubiš hurled a hand grenade, which exploded by the rear wheel. The blast sent shards of metal and horsehair fibres from the car’s upholstery into Heydrich’s body. As shots cracked across the cobbles, driver Johannes Klein chased Gabčík on foot, leaving his mortally wounded boss prone in the street. The assassins slipped away. Despite the odds, the mission had succeeded.

A City Under the Jack Boot

Prague slammed shut, raids, curfews, and mass arrests swept the streets. The parachutists reached the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius and took refuge in the crypt, a stone chamber with a single vent. On 4 June, Heydrich, after appearing to recover, suddenly died from infection and trauma. The men who had struck at the head of the Nazi oppression still lived for now.

10 June 1942 — Lidice

To terrorise the nation, the occupiers erased Lidice, a village with no connection to the assassination. One hundred seventy-three men were executed by firing squad. Most women were deported to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Children were torn from their families; 82 were murdered in gas vans at Chełmno, while a few were selected for Germanisation. Homes were burned and bulldozed, the rubble scattered. The Nazis intended the name of Lidice to vanish forever. Instead, it became a worldwide rallying cry against Nazi tyranny.

The Last Stand in the Crypt

On 18 June 1942, the church was surrounded by German troops. Karel Čurda betrayed the network for Nazi blood money. At dawn, about seven hundred SS and Wehrmacht troops sealed off Resslova Street and launched their assault. Seven men stood ready inside the church. Upstairs, Adolf Opálka, Jan Kubiš, and Josef Bublík defended the nave and choir loft until two lay dying, and the last took his own life rather than surrender.

Down in the crypt, Jozef Gabčík, Josef Valčík, Jaroslav Švarc, and Jan Hrubý fought in near-total darkness as fire hoses flooded the chamber and tear gas choked the air. After seven hours of battle, with ammunition exhausted and water rising around them, they faced their final choice. They chose death over surrender. Witnesses would remember their defiant cry echoing from the stone chamber: “We are Czechs! We will never surrender!”

Why History Matters

This courage cost many lives; the alternative would have cost a nation’s future. Had Heydrich lived, terror in Prague would have tightened and resignation spread. Instead, Lidice showed the world the regime’s true face. Public outrage in Britain mounted; Britain terminated the Munich Agreement, France followed, and the revival of Czechoslovakia after the war moved from hope to commitment.

Operation Anthropoid still echoes at Heydrich’s Curve, at Lidice, and in the crypt on Resslova Street where, when reason said “submit,” seven men chose to stand for what they believed.

Historical Amnesia

Spanish philosopher George Santayana famously said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Just a week ago, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met to discuss a possible settlement of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not invited to the summit. In an echo of the Munich Betrayal, it seems Ukraine might be forced to trade territory for a peace agreement that no one expects Russia to respect.

Today, we see that despite widespread knowledge of Munich's consequences, historical awareness alone is not enough to prevent conflict. Each generation must actively choose to learn from the past or be doomed to repeat it.

Martina Gregorcová and Operation Anthropoid Tours

This guest blog was co-authored by Martina Gregorcová, Managing Director at Art of Your Travel agency, and a tour guide. Czechoslovak Resistance Tours, part of Art of Your Travel, is a specialised tour company that focuses exclusively on Czechoslovak World War II resistance history, notably the 1942 assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. The company offers private, custom-made historical tours throughout Prague and the surrounding areas, including significant sites like Lidice, Ležáky, Pardubice, and Terezín.

The company’s tours follow the actual footsteps of the resistance fighters involved in Operation Anthropoid and related missions, providing immersive historical experiences with expert local guides. The company positions itself around telling the “untold truth” of these resistance efforts, covering everything from the planning and execution of the assassination to the brutal Nazi reprisals and the lasting legacy of these acts of defiance. To learn more, visit the company’s website:

• Art of Your Travel

• Operation Anthropoid Tours

References:

BBC: Chamberlain returns from Munich

IWM: How Britain Hoped To Avoid War With Germany In The 1930s

Radio Prague International: Anthropoid: Czechoslovakia’s greatest resistance story

Radio Prague International: How the Sokol movement helped Operation Anthropoid succeed

Further Reading:

You’ll Be Hearing From Us!: Operation Anthropoid - the assassination of SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich and its consequences (2019), by Niall Cherry (Author), Tony Moseley (Contributor), Jonathan Saunders (Contributor), John Howes (Contributor)

The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich: The True Story Behind Operation Anthropoid (2007) by Callum Macdonald

Images in order of appearance:

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, after landing at Heston Aerodrome following his meeting with Adolf Hitler and the signing of the infamous Munich Agreement. Ministry of Information official photographer. This photograph, D 2239, comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums.

Heydrich, Reinhard: as a SS-Gruppenführer, Leiter des SD, Chef des Reichssicherheitshauptamtes (RSHA), Deutschland. Author: Hoffmann, Heinrich. Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1969-054-16, Recoloured.

Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík in Britain, 1941—photographed before deployment on Operation Anthropoid.

Heydrich’s Mercedes 320 Cabriolet after the blast at Libeň—shattered windscreen and torn bodywork from the 27 May 1942 Anthropoid attack.

Gallery

Libeň’s “Heydrich Curve” — the bend where, on 27 May 1942, his Mercedes slowed and Gabčík and Kubiš struck.

Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius (Prague). Author: Yair Haklai

National Monument to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror, underground crypt of the Baroque Church of Sts Cyril and Methodius. The refuge of the Czechoslovak parachutists from 27 May to 18 June 1942 after the attack on Reinhard Heydrich.

Busts of Josef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš in the National Memorial of the Heroes of the Heydrichiada (Prague, Czechia). Author: Ondřej Žváček.

Kobylisy memorial—the 1942 execution ground where hundreds of Czech patriots were shot; a quiet lawn that holds a besieged city’s memory.

Legasee's Mission to Record Britain's Berlin Airlift Veterans

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In 1982, the TV series Airline appeared on our screens. The series was set in post-war Britain and followed the exploits of Jack Ruskin (played by Roy Marsden), a former RAF pilot who starts his own air transport business. In the final episode of the series, Too Many Promises, the Berlin Airlift offers Ruskin an opportunity to save his fledgling company from financial ruin. Unfortunately, the planned second series of Airline was cancelled, and the viewing public never got to find out if Jack Ruskin succeeded.

The Berlin Blockade and Airlift of 1948-49 represented the first major confrontation of the Cold War, yet this pivotal humanitarian mission has faded from the public consciousness. The only feature film on the subject, The Big Lift (1950), which starred Montgomery Clift and Paul Douglas, is a curious piece of cinema history, also forgotten. The film, shot on location in Berlin, offers a rare, authentic glimpse of the city’s devastation, resilience, and Cold War realities.

Today, the UK’s Legasee Educational Trust, a registered charity dedicated to preserving the stories of British military veterans through filmed interviews, has returned to the subject of the Berlin Airlift.

The Forgotten Crisis of 1948

The Berlin Blockade emerged from mounting tensions following the Yalta Conference of February 1945, where the USA, Great Britain and USSR discussed the reorganisation of post-war Europe. Perhaps inevitably, Berlin proved a flashpoint in the developing Cold War.

Since the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, Germany had been divided into four zones of occupation, each controlled by one of the Allies. The German capital, Berlin, lay inside the Russian zone and was also divided into four zones of occupation. Access to Berlin for the Allies was by way of road, rail and canals, and via three specific air corridors.

Soviet leader Joseph Stalin wanted to keep Germany weak and use it as a buffer zone between the USSR and the West. The Western powers saw things differently. Learning lessons from the Treaty of Versailles, they did not want to see Germany financially crippled again. This meant introducing a new, stable currency and more jobs for workers in the Western sectors.

The crisis escalated when the Western Allies began using Marshall Aid funds to rebuild the German economy, introduced stable currency, and created 'Bizonia' by joining the British and American zones in 1947. On 24 June 1948, Stalin responded by cutting all land access to Berlin, leaving the city accessible only by air and creating critical shortages - West Berlin possessed merely 36 days' worth of food supplies.

The Berlin Airlift represented the first practical test of American containment policy to prevent the spread of communism. Rather than forcing passage by land and risking another war, the Allies chose to supply their sectors through air corridors. This operation continued for eleven months until the blockade's conclusion in May 1949.

Operation Plainfare: Britain’s Contribution

Despite the scale of the operation, the British contribution has often been overlooked. At the airlift's height, aircraft landed at Berlin's Templehof Airport every minute, with the operation costing the USA $350 million and Britain £17 million. The Allies initially aimed to transport 4,500 tons of supplies daily, increasing this target to 5,000 tons by autumn 1948, with coal comprising a substantial portion of the tonnage required for the city's energy needs.

British forces mobilised the Royal Air Force and contracted twenty-five additional charter companies to transport primarily oil and gasoline into the city. Beyond their approximately 23 per cent share of total freight tonnage, the British assumed responsibility for the majority of passenger transport during the blockade.

Legasee's Archive of Service

Legasee was founded by Martin Bisiker, a videographer whose personal mission began when his grandfather passed away without sharing his experiences as a Desert Rat. The organisation has created the largest freely available film archive of British military veterans online, conducting filmed interviews that capture stories in veterans’ own words.

Between 2012 and 2013, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Legasee captured fifty interviews with British veterans who participated in the airlift - pilots, ground crew, engineers, and support staff. Working alongside the British Berlin Airlift Association, the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum, and Bungay High School, the project created a permanent exhibition commemorating the 65th anniversary of the airlift.

Individual Stories of Service

The recently launched podcast series The Veterans' Voice: Berlin Airlift draws from these archived interviews. The four-episode series chronicles the progression from rising tensions through ultimate victory in the skies:

Episode 1 features Terence Crowley, Jean Eastham, Tom Holland, Tom Henshaw and Fred Danckwardt recalling the uncertain atmosphere of post-war Germany and early signs of the looming blockade. Episode 2 covers the immediate response to the June 1948 blockade, with veterans Jean Eastham, Leo Hatcher, David Edwards, Len Hurst, Tom Holland and Fred Danckwardt describing the chaos, pressure and resolve of those initial days.

The third episode documents the winter escalation, as John Eddy, Dick Arscott, Leo Hatcher, Larry Lamb, David Edwards and Fred Danckwardt recount the operation's massive scale, dangerous flying conditions, and essential camaraderie. The final episode features Tom Holland, John Curtis, Dick Arscott, Fred Danckwardt, Freddie Montgomery and William Ball reflecting on the airlift's ultimate success and their later welcome back to Berlin by the people whose lives they had helped preserve.

Dick Arscott's Legacy

Among these voices stands that of Dick Arscott, whose story exemplifies both the operation's human dimension and the challenge of preserving veteran testimony. Arscott was one of the RAF pilots flying Dakotas into Berlin's precarious corridors, enduring freezing conditions, constant Soviet harassment, and relentless pressure while maintaining professionalism and determination.

Arscott passed away in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when restrictions meant only his children and their partners could attend his funeral. His granddaughter Kate discovered the full extent of his service through his 2013 Legasee interview. She noted: “To us, he was just Grandpa... Family was at the heart of his life, and gatherings were filled with his steady presence, gentle humour, and stories that rarely touched on his wartime experiences”.

The interview revealed previously unshared details of Arscott’s character, including an incident where “he once flew a Meteor jet under the Clifton Suspension Bridge, an act for which he was 'severely reprimanded', but which brings a smile to the family.” Kate Arscott observed: “He also used to borrow an aircraft just to fly home and see my grandma for the weekend. It's typical of the devotion and quiet daring that defined him.”

Watch A Veteran Interview with Dick Arscott. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, 9 Nov. 2012.

West Germany and the Soviet Collapse

The Cold War nation of West Germany, officially known as the Federal Republic of Germany, was established on 23 May 1949, by a declaration of the German Parliamentary Council, which represented the former zones of occupation held by the United States, Great Britain, and France after World War II. West Germany was an essential part of the American and Western European economic and military shield against the Soviets and their Eastern European satellites during the decades of the Cold War.

Forty years and six months later, the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union. Soviet-occupied East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic, was reunited with West Germany on 3 October 1990. The Soviet Union collapsed a year later. Regrettably, the initial optimism that surrounded the collapse of the USSR quickly dissipated in a storm of economic instability, corruption, political, ethnic and nationalistic tensions and violence.

Preserving Historical Memory

Martin Bisiker, Legasee's founder, emphasised the broader significance: “Dick was part of one of the greatest logistical efforts in modern history, but the individual stories of those men and women who served are rarely told.” The Berlin Airlift succeeded without military force, resolving the first Cold War crisis through logistical means, though not without casualties - at least 78 people died in aircraft accidents, their names engraved on the Airlift Memorial in Berlin's Tempelhof district.

Legasee's mission remains essential: these stories represent “primary source material that offer unique insights into military service, personal resilience, and the social history of their times.” As the generation that lived through these events passes away, organisations like Legasee provide the crucial link, ensuring their experiences continue to educate and inspire future generations.

The project received support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, reflecting recognition of the urgent need to “record and share the lived experiences of British veterans before they are lost to time.” Through their work, individual voices like Dick Arscott's continue speaking to new audiences, preserving both the operational history and human dimension of this defining Cold War episode.

The Veterans' Voice: Berlin Airlift podcast series is available on major platforms, accompanied by the complete digital archive of filmed interviews at www.Legasee.org.uk.

References:

• Airline (1982) ITV Drama series

• The Big Lift (1950), 20th Century Fox,  a drama war film that tells the story of “Operation Vittles”, the American codename for the 1948–49 Berlin Airlift

• Legasee: The Berlin Airlift (1948-49) 50 interviews with British veterans who took part in the airlift

• The Allied Museum, The Berlin Airlift 1948/49 – statistics and timelines

• West Germany Established

• German Reunification

Ysselsteyn German War Cemetery: A Complex Memorial Site

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The Ysselsteyn German War Cemetery in the Netherlands is the largest Second World War German cemetery and the only German military cemetery in the country. Located near Venray (the area saw bitter fighting during Operation Aintree between the end of September and into October 1944) in Limburg province, this 28-hectare (69-acre) cemetery was established in 1946 by the Dutch war graves commission (Nederlandse Gravendienst) following the German occupation of the Netherlands from May 1940 to May 1945.

Who is Buried Here?

The cemetery contains over 32,000 burials from around 25 different nationalities, including:

• 87 German soldiers from the First World War whose bodies floated down rivers to the Netherlands

• Approximately 32,000 Second World War casualties

• Wehrmacht and SS soldiers, Dutch collaborators, supporters from other nations, and civilians, including women and children

• Over 5,000 unknown burials marked as "Ein Deutscher Soldat" (A German Soldier)

Ysselsteyn: Netherlands' only German WWII cemetery.

The Dark Reality

According to a plaque at the site, recent research reveals that approximately 2,000 to 3,000 of those buried were actively involved in war crimes, including the systematic persecution and murder of 102,000 Jews (mostly Dutch), as well as Sinti and Roma people. About 3,000 of the burials were soldiers detailed to occupation duties, including razzias, deportations, illegal incarceration, and Jew-hunting. Notable among the buried is Julius Dettmann, an SS officer who deported Anne Frank and her family from their hiding place in Amsterdam.

Modern Management and Purpose

In 1976, the Dutch government transferred administration of the cemetery to the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge). Today, the site serves as an international education centre that promotes peace and mutual understanding, complete with a visitor centre and youth meeting centre.

The Konstantin Benzien Story

In December 1943, German fighter pilot Unteroffizier Konstantin Benzien crashed his Messerschmitt Bf 109 into a butcher's shop in Opeinde, Friesland, after aerial combat with American bombers. For 79 years, his identity remained unknown, and his remains were buried in an unnamed grave at Ysselsteyn cemetery. Researchers from the Missing Airmen Memorial Foundation finally solved the mystery using DNA extracted from envelope glue that his sister had licked decades earlier when sending letters. The DNA from the glue matched samples from the pilot's recovered bones, allowing German authorities to officially identify him and give his grave a proper headstone with his name.

Ongoing Controversy

The cemetery remains controversial, with protests from groups like the Dutch Anti-Fascists' League and Jewish organisations opposing commemorative events. The site occasionally receives visits from neo-Nazis, highlighting the ongoing tension between remembrance and the glorification of those who committed atrocities.

This cemetery represents a complex memorial site that serves both as a final resting place and a stark reminder of the atrocities of war, emphasising the importance of learning from history. Sadly, with war raging in Ukraine and across the globe, it seems some lessons remain outside human comprehension.

References:

Dutch News

Youth and Educational Meeting Centre Ysselsteyn

Clipped Wings: Red Tape and Command Failures during the Falklands Air War

In the spring of 1982, most British people knew Argentina primarily from the hit musical Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. And if British people didn’t know much about Argentina, they knew even less about an obscure group of islands in the South Atlantic Ocean known as the Falklands.

I was sixteen years old in 1982, and just like everyone else, I was surprised to wake up one morning in early April to discover that the British inhabitants of the Falkland Islands had been invaded and occupied by Argentine armed forces. Initially, no one seemed too concerned, and a diplomatic resolution looked the most likely outcome of the crisis. However, things took a dramatic turn when Margaret Thatcher’s government, which had badly misjudged the intentions of Argentina’s military junta and its leader, General Leopoldo Galtieri, announced Britain would immediately dispatch a naval task force to recover the islands.

On 5 April 1982, a hastily organised armada set sail from British waters to steam around 8,000 miles to the South Atlantic. The timing of the crisis proved advantageous for the unpopular Thatcher government, which was busy pulling the fangs of Britain’s armed forces with sweeping defence cuts, which included selling off or decommissioning numerous Royal Navy warships and support vessels. If Galtieri had waited to launch his invasion until the following year, then Prime Minister Thatcher would have been forced into a humiliating surrender of the territory. But Galtieri and the junta had domestic woes of their own and hoped capturing the “Islas Malvinas” would be a suitable distraction for their unhappy compatriots. Argentina’s military planners saw Britain’s defence cuts as a green light for invasion, assuming Thatcher’s government would acquiesce once the Falklands were under Argentine control.

As the task force steamed toward its date with destiny, Britain’s tabloid press had a field day whipping the country into a patriotic frenzy. At the same time, the US Secretary of State, Alexander Haig, flew backwards and forwards between London, Washington and Buenos Aires, attempting to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis. On 21 May 1982, the task force arrived off the Falklands. Haig’s “shuttle diplomacy” had failed, and the shooting started. Every lunchtime, a couple of school friends and I would walk to my sister’s flat to watch the one o’clock news. We would sit and listen in silence to the slow, deliberate, monotone voice of Ian McDonald, the official Ministry of Defence spokesman, who would deliver good and bad news in the same deadpan tone. Once the fighting started, the tabloid press printed dramatic, sometimes shocking photographs, such as HMS Antelope exploding in San Carlos Bay.

HMS Antelope explodes after being the subject of repeated air attacks in ‘bomb alley’  in San Carlos Water, the Falkland Islands. Photograph courtesy of Royal Navy News www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/

At the time, my sister was married to a member of the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards. The 1st Battalion was not part of the task force, but the 2nd Battalion was sent south. On the night of 13–14 June, the Guards launched an offensive against the strategically important Mount Tumbledown and the surrounding high ground. The Guards forced the Argentine troops off the mountain and back into the Falkland’s Capital of Port Stanley. The 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards, suffered eight dead and 43 wounded. The Guards took 30 prisoners while the bodies of 30 Argentine soldiers and marines were later recovered from the battlefield. For us, every television, radio and newspaper report carried weight and meaning.

As events unfolded, we initially focused on the naval actions and then the land battles to recapture the islands. My memories of the air war over the Falklands are vague. I do not recall being aware that our carrier-based Sea Harriers were outnumbered around ten to one. Only now, 43 years after the Argentine surrender, have I learned a little about what the courageous pilots of the Fleet Air Arm contributed to the safety of the task force and ultimate victory in the Falklands War.

Commander “Sharkey” Ward commanded 801 Naval Air Squadron aboard HMS Invincible during the Falklands. He served as senior Sea Harrier adviser to the command on tactics and air war direction, flew over 60 CAP (combat air patrol) missions, achieved three air-to-air kills, and participated in or witnessed ten kills. He was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry. In 1992, Pen & Sword published his book, Sea Harrier Over the Falklands.

The book is Ward's dramatic first-hand story of the air war in the South Atlantic. It is also an extraordinarily outspoken account of inter-service rivalries, bureaucratic interference, and dangerous ignorance of the realities of air combat among many senior commanders. Ward reveals how the pilots of the 801 Squadron found themselves fighting more than the enemy, experiencing exhaustion, atrocious weather, and prejudice and ignorance on their own side.

Prewar development of the Harrier as a carrier-borne fighter receives detailed examination under Ward's supervision and guidance. The Sea Harrier (SHAR) was a single-seat, subsonic VSTOL (vertical and/or short take-off and landing) fighter, reconnaissance, and strike aircraft. It was armed with Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and 30mm Aden cannon and could also be fitted with bombs, rockets, and Lepus flares.

Particularly noteworthy are the extensive details about the Sea Harriers' capabilities, especially the advanced Ferranti Blue Fox radar system, which Ward insisted his pilots master, while other squadrons underutilised and mistrusted it.

During Operation Corporate, the codename for the British military operation to reclaim the Falkland Islands, the Harriers undertook multiple critical tasks. The SHAR provided continuous CAP protection for the task force. Ward also offers detailed accounts of the numerous challenges in flying and fighting the Harrier from an aircraft carrier.

Central to Ward's argument is the contention that had he followed all his instructions to the letter, Britain might well have lost the Falklands War. The book is highly critical of various aspects of the British command structure, especially the Flag Officer, the admiral in operational control of the fleet aboard HMS Hermes, Rear Admiral (later Admiral) Sir John "Sandy" Woodward.

Especially scathing criticism targets the RAF, senior naval commanders, and even pilots from the other Sea Harrier squadron (800 Squadron on HMS Hermes). He is particularly scornful of the RAF's Operation Black Buck. These missions saw the RAF deploy ageing Vulcan bombers, which involved in-flight refuelling by Victor tankers, aimed at disrupting Argentine air operations by targeting the runway at Port Stanley. According to Ward's calculations, the Vulcan attacks on Port Stanley airfield consumed hundreds of thousands of gallons of expensive aviation fuel at the taxpayers' expense so that the RAF could drop a handful of bombs, which caused minimal damage.

Most damning of all, Ward contends that the RAF launched three V-bomber missions, which achieved next to nothing and consumed 400,000 gallons of fuel. That fuel could have supported 785 bombing sorties from the Carrier Group and would have delivered 2,357 bombs. Apparently, during one of the RAF's missions, 20 of the bombs dropped on Port Stanley air strip failed to explode because someone forgot to arm them. A Vulcan mission was scrubbed on another occasion due to a cabin depressurisation problem. When the aircraft in question returned to Ascension Island, it was found that the cause of the 'pressurisation failure' had been that one of the cockpit windows had been left open.

The military effectiveness of Black Buck remains a matter of controversy. The Vulcan raids caused minimal damage to the runway, and the damage to the radars was quickly repaired. Nevertheless, many historians contend that the raids demonstrated Britain’s ability to attack the Argentine mainland. For this reason, squadrons of Mirage fighters were redeployed from the south to defend airfields and headquarters in northern Argentina.

Ward’s book addresses the question of what 20 Sea Harriers, operating from a flight deck in the South Atlantic, could do against more than 200 Argentine military aircraft flown by skilled and courageous pilots. Ward’s account provides insights into how this seemingly impossible victory was achieved.

The book is somewhat of a technical manual on Sea Harrier operations, which may not appeal to all readers. It is also a controversial insider’s critique of British military command during one of modern naval warfare's most significant air campaigns. Regrettably, Ward’s descriptions of inter-service rivalries, leadership failures, MoD interference, penny-pinching on defence and the shameful waste of taxpayers’ money have become the all-too-familiar hallmarks of successive British governments.

The Falklands War lasted 74 days. On 14 June 1982, Argentine forces surrendered. Argentina’s military gamble cost the lives of 649 military personnel. The recovery of the Falklands led to the deaths of 255 British military personnel and three islanders.

General Galtieri, who led Argentina into the Falklands War, was removed from power after the defeat. Margaret Thatcher’s popularity surged after the conflict, leading to her victory in the 1983 general election. Before the Falklands, Thatcher’s leadership of the Tory party was tenuous at best, and the Conservatives looked sure to lose the election. According to the Declassified UK website: “Just four days before Argentina’s invasion of the Falklands in April 1982, the British government was trying to sell the regime bomber airplanes.”

Sea Harrier Over The Falklands by Commander Sharkey Ward is available in hardback, paperback and eBook.

FROM HILDE, WITH LOVE: The Quiet Heroism of Nazi Resistance

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When Picturehouse Entertainment asked me to share information about their new film "From Hilde, With Love," I was eager to learn more about this story of courage during one of history's darkest periods. The film, directed by Andreas Dresen, will be released in UK cinemas on 27 June. I haven't seen the movie yet, so this is not a personal recommendation but an introduction to a piece of WWII history that is worthy of attention.

Hans and Hilde Coppi

The Real Story Behind the Film

"From Hilde, With Love" tells the true story of Hilde and Hans Coppi, members of an anti-Nazi resistance group known as the "Red Orchestra" (Die Rote Kapelle). Set in Berlin in 1942, the film follows shy Hilde as she falls in love with Hans and finds her place within this resistance network.

The Red Orchestra wasn't a formal organisation, as the name suggests. The term was coined by the Gestapo, who referred to resistance radio operators as "pianists," their transmitters as "pianos," and their supervisors as "conductors." This disparate network consisted of over 150 Berlin Nazi opponents from various backgrounds - artists, scientists, workers, and students - united by their rejection of National Socialism.

Hilde Coppi (née Rake) was born to a working-class family in Berlin on 30 May 1909. She met Hans Coppi, seven years her junior, through Communist resistance circles. Together, they engaged in acts of defiance that might seem small but required immense courage: distributing anti-Nazi leaflets, posting resistance messages on walls, and perhaps most dangerous of all, listening to Soviet radio broadcasts.

One of their important activities was listening to Moscow Radio for messages from German prisoners of war and forwarding them to their families in Germany. This directly countered Nazi propaganda claiming that Soviet forces didn't take prisoners but killed all German soldiers who surrendered.

In September 1942, the Gestapo arrested the couple. Hans was executed on 22 December 1942. Hilde, who was pregnant at the time of her arrest, gave birth to their son Hans in prison on 27 November 1942. Despite petitions for clemency, Hitler personally refused, and Hilde was beheaded at Plötzensee Prison on 5 August 1943, after being allowed to nurse her baby for several months.

Their son, Hans Coppi Jr., survived and was raised by his paternal grandparents. He went on to become a historian dedicated to researching the Red Orchestra and preserving the memory of German resistance to the Nazi regime.

The Film Adaptation

Director Andreas Dresen, who grew up in East Germany, deliberately avoids portraying the Red Orchestra members as superheroes or making them symbols of any political ideology. Instead, he presents them as ordinary young people with a conscience, making their story more relatable and their bravery more profound.

"From Hilde, With Love" stars Liv Lisa Fries (known from "Babylon Berlin") as Hilde and Johannes Hegemann as Hans. The film alternates between scenes of their summer romance and Hilde's time in prison, creating a powerful contrast between moments of joy and the brutal reality of living under a totalitarian regime.

The film premiered in Competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2024 and received strong reviews. Writing in Variety, Catherine Bray praised Fries for her "subtle but layered performance." She highlighted how cinematographer Judith Kaufmann's work effectively contrasts the "sylvan charms" of the resistance group's summer hangouts with the stark prison environment. Bray concluded that although "From Hilde, with Love" is set almost eighty years ago, "the themes explored seem destined to remain eternally urgent and relevant."

Variety's review also touches on a poignant historical detail. Despite the group's efforts and risks, only one of their messages to Moscow ever made it through, and it simply said, "We wish our friends the very best." This underscores the human dimension of their resistance rather than its tactical impact.

Historical Context: The Red Orchestra

The history of the Red Orchestra was misrepresented for decades. During the Cold War, West German narratives often portrayed them as Soviet spies and traitors, while East Germany elevated them to the status of Communist heroes.

In reality, the group was more complex and diverse. While some members had Communist sympathies, others were conservative nationalists, Catholics, or simply individuals opposed to the Nazi regime. Their activities included distributing leaflets, documenting Nazi crimes, helping Jews escape, and, yes, transmitting military intelligence to the Allies.

By 1942, the Gestapo had infiltrated the network, leading to over 120 arrests. More than fifty members were executed, including the Coppis. Despite the ultimate tragic fate of many members, their courage in standing against tyranny reminds us that resistance is possible even in the most dangerous circumstances.

Does This Film Matter Today?

At a time when extremism and authoritarianism are on the rise globally, stories like Hilde and Hans Coppi's remind us of the importance of moral courage and the power of individual conscience. Their story shows that resistance does not always come in dramatic forms, but sometimes in small acts of defiance and quiet integrity.

"From Hilde, With Love" is a historical drama that explores love, resistance, and the strength of the human spirit in the face of oppression.

Sources: Historical information gathered from Wikipedia articles on Hans Coppi, Hilde Coppi, and the Red Orchestra; the German Resistance Memorial Centre website; The History Learning Site; Encyclopedia.com; and various film reviews from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Reuters.