Tuesday 19 March 2013

NVAA Battlefield Tour Arnhem 2013

NVAA Battlefield Tour 2012
Arnhem

NVAA Amsterdam 2013
 
 


View NVAA Arnhem Tour 2013 in a larger map

Arnhem - Arnhem Oosterbeek Cemetery



Arnhem Oosterbeek Cemetery

The Arnhem-Oosterbeek cemetery contains the graves of most of those killed in the fighting during the attempt to capture the bridge at Arnhem, as well as those subsequently killed in the area , including Northumbrian Gunners.


The cemetery contains 3 Victoria Cross graves


Gronert Twins

Thomas and Claude Gronert
Cluade and Tomas Gronert grew up and worked as tin miners in the Redruth area of Cornwall before enlisting into the Parachute Regiment. They were serving with 6 Platoon of B Company 2nd Battalion, when they were dropped into Arnhem.

As their platoon advanced to Arnhem Bridge they came accross Nazi SS troops who pretended to surrender. When Tommy and three others moved out into the open to take them prisoner, the Germans opened fire.

Hearing badly wounded Tommy scream, Claude rushed to help but was hit 3 times in the head.




         Pvt T. Gronert                                                     Pvt C. Gronert 
                 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment Army Air Corps               

 Captain WN Barrie DFC

Capt WN Barrie DFC
Glider Pilot Regiment
  William N Barrie was born on 12th October 1918. He was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Hexham. He was made a Kings Scout in May 1935 and played regularly for Tynedale RFC. He trained as an accountant, the war interrupting his final exams. 

Enlisting with 4th RNF (TA) before the outbreak of war he deployed to France in 1940 as part of the 51st Highland Div. He was fortunate to avoid capture, during the evacuation from France. On return to the UK , his unit was deployed in the home defence role at  Wylam. He was promoted to Lieutenant and posted to the Durham Light Infantry.

When the Glider Pilot Regiment was formed in early 1942 Lt Barrie was among the first officers to volunteer for flying duties with the new airborne unit.  He took part in the glider operations in Sicily, where he won the DFC, and in Normandy. 

During Operation Market he was serving with G Squadron,  the majority of their Horsa gliders carried the Light Guns, Jeeps and gunners of the 1st Air landing Regiment Royal Artillery. On landing the Wing regrouped and deployed as the divisional reserve, and was given the task of providing local protection to the gun batteries of the Air landing Regiment RA.  

 Captain Barrie was killed in an action trying to knock out a German gun with a hand grenade.
 
 
Capt WN Barrie DFC
Glider Pilot Regiment Army Air Corps
 
He is commemorated on Hexham War Memorial
 
 

ROYAL ARTILLERY

Unknown Gunner

Gnr. G Gray 1st Airlanding Light Regiment RA

Gunner George Gray was killed 20th September 1944 served with 1st Air landing Light Regiment Royal Artillery aged 25. He was the son of George and Isabelle Gray and the husband of Constance Mary Gray of Gosforth, Newcastle.
 
He is commemorated on the Gosforth War memorial.
 
 

Gnr G. Gray
1st Air landing Light Regiment RA

74th (Northumbrian) Regiment RA (TA)


              L/ Sgt J. Ottino              Capt  RB Hutt             Lt JT Bryant                  
 

L/Sgt James Ottino 

 
L/Sgt Ottino pictured front left
 
 
L/Sgt J. Ottino
74th (Northumbrian) Field Regiment RA (TA)

Capt RB Hutt

 
Capt RB Hutt
74th(Northumbrian) Field Regiment RA (TA)

Captain Raymond Barnes Hutt was killed 17th April 1945 exactly one month after his 29th birthday whilst serving as the adjutant of 74th (Northumbrian) Field Regiment RA (TA). 

He was killed in the village of Wageningen, 10 miles west of Arnhem. The war diary of 74 Regiment records:

Rest of day spent regrouping in Arnhem.
Regt passed through area on which 1st Airborne Div fought and found many signs of their grim fight-parachute-harness-containers-jeeps etc. The Regt buried several "Men of Arnhem" after getting their identifications and found some communal graves with inscriptions in German. Capt R.B. Hutt RA (Adjutant) killed and major R. Hudson (2IC) wounded in the eye when jeep in which they were travelling went over some R mines. Major Hudson evacuated but not seriously wounded.

 His wife Julia Marie vowed never to remarry and visited her husbands' grave every year on March 17, his birthday, to lay a bouquet of white flowers. Julia Marie died in 1991, and her ashes are buried in her husbands' grave.

 He is commemorated in the Book of Remembrance 74 Regiment, St Michaels and All Angels South Shields

Lt JT Bryant

Lt JT Bryant
74th(Northumbrian) Field Regiment RA (TA)
 
Lieutenant John Trevor Byrant was killed 7th October 1944 aged 26. Commissioned in September 1942 he was serving with 74th (Northumbrian) Field Regiment RA (TA). 

The war diary of 74 Regiment records:
7 October 1944: Lieut J.T. Bryant RA killed at OP
 
He is commemorated in the Book of Remembrance 74 Regiment, St Michaels and All Angels South Shields.

Lt JT Bryant
 
Lt JT Bryant
74th (Northumbrian) Field Regiment RA (TA)



74th  (Northumbrian) Regiment RA (TA)
Arnhem Oosterbeek Cemetery



124th (Northumbrian) Regiment RA (TA)



Capt WA Wood MC

Capt WA Wood MC
124th(Northumbrian) Field Regiment RA (TA)
Captain William Angus Wood was killed 25th September 1944 serving as a FOO with 124th (Northumbrian) Field Regiment RA (TA).

Capt. Wood was serving with 72nd Field Regiment RA (TA) when he was captured in Libya in May 1942. Originally reported as missing, he was later found to be a prisoner of war in Italian hands.

He was imprisoned in Campo 21, Chieti. When the Italians signed an armistice with the Allies, the camp was taken over by Germans who evacuated the POW’s to Germany. During this move Capt Wood escaped and made his way south to the British lines. For this action he was awarded the Military Cross.

He joined 124 Regiment fighting through Normandy and Belgium before being killed in Nijmagen area.
 
Capt. WA Wood is commemorated on the war memorial at Wall and on the Officers Mess fireplace, Alexander Road TAC, Gateshead
 

Capt WA Wood MC

Capt WA Wood MC
124th(Northumbrian) Field Regiment RA (TA)

124th (Northumbrian) Field Regiement RA (TA)

 
L/Bdr Blake MM
L/Bdr Coombs
Gnr W Kelly

102nd (Northumberlnad Hussars) Anti-Tank Regiment RA (TA)

Lt KL Gentleman
Gnr F Astle

113th LAA Regiment RA (2nd / 5th Battalion DLI) (TA)

Gnr FG Fisher

----------------------------------------------------o--------------------------------------------------------

Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery
 
 



Arnhem - Northumbrian Gunners Nijmagen

Just before the end of Operation Market, 124 (Northumbrian) Regiment TA moved to a position north of Nijmagen.

They engaged targets to their north, during which Captain WA Wood MC was killed. By 26th September 1944, Operation Market garden was at an end with the withdrawal from Oosterbeek. The battle for the Island of land between the River Waal and the lower Rhine would however continue till February 1945 when Arnhem was liberated by Canadian forces.

124 Regiment War Diary Nijmagen
 
124 Regiment Gun Position Nijmagen


124 Regiment Gun Position was just to left of Nijmagen Bridge

124 Regiment 441 Battery gun dug in north of Nijmagen


 

Arnhem - Northumbrian Gunners St Odernode

Operation Market Plan
 Operation Garden commenced at 14:15 17th September 1944 with an opening barrage from the Corps Artillery, together with 7 squadrons of rocket firing typhoons. Over 300 guns opened fire on a rolling barrage 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and 5 miles (8 km) in depth. The opening line of the barrage was allocated to 74th and 124th (Northumbrian) Field Regiments.


 


The Northumbrian Gunners continued to support XXX Corps on the move north. After the initial fire plan, they engaged targets into the night of the 17th, conducted fires over the next few days plan to support the bridgeheads being established, as well as firing counter battery missions.

The war diary of 124th (Northumbrian) Field Regiment chronicles the opening days of Operation Market.
 
 
124 Regiment was ordered to move north with 69th Brigade on the 21st September 1944. At this point in time the Bridge at Arnhem had already been lost.
On the 22nd 69 Brigade was in trouble when two enemy battalions of infantry and a regiment of tanks cut the main Corps centre-line near Uden, eight miles south of the bridge at Grave. The brigade was cut in half with the East Yorkshires in the north and the Green Howards in the south. 124th Regiment  found itself in a similar predicament. The main body cut off from the CO, 2IC, C.P.Os and Survey party.
Captain Dowdeswell the battery captain of 288th Battery put the regiment into action in support of the 101st Airborne Division. 86th Field Regiment was also in the area and the groups of mixed artillery were collected together, with the commanding officer of the 86th Field Regiment acting as Commander Royal Artillery to the American divisional commander.
124 (Northumbrian) Regiment RA (TA)
St Odernode

St Odernode


124 Regiment 441 Battery welcome an Amrican visitoe from 101st AB
 

 



 



Arnhem - Eindhoven


The American 101st Airborne were tasked to secure Eindhoven, bridges over the Wilhelminakanal to its south, and to the north, bridges on the River Donnel and Zuid Willemswaart .  The 101st had reached most objectives by 16:00 on D Day; however the bridge at Son was blown. The move north of XXX Corps had already been delayed by the enthusiastic crowds in Eindhoven as they welcomed their liberators, the requirement to build a bailey bridge at Son added further to this delay.

Once the bridge was built, XXX Corps continued to strike north, the venerable route was however now subject to counter attack.
Operation Market 101st AB



 

Arnhem - Nijmegen


82nd Airborne Operation Market

The capture of the bridges at Nijmegen and Grave, together with some smaller bridges over the Maas-Waal Canal, was tasked to the American 82nd Airborne Division. As part of the protection to the bridges and the XXX Corps route they were to secure the Groesbeek Heights to the east.

The bridge at Grave was captured, two bridges over the canal were blown, but a third was captured and the Groesbeek Heights were secured despite German counter attacks.

The capture of the bridge at Nijmegen did not go to plan. The Germans resisted the initial attempts by the American Paratroopers. The Guards Armoured Division linked up with the Americans, but was unable to dislodge the German defenders.

Eventually Assault boats were brought up and the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment under heavy fire crossed the River Waal and captured the bridge from the north.

At 18:30 the first elements of XXX Corps crossed the bridge at Nijmegen 36 hours behind schedule and according to the original plan they should have been in Arnhem.#
Nijmagen Bridge
 



Aanhem - NVAA Gun Team

NVAA Gun Team man 17 pounder anti-tank gun Airborme Museum Hartenstein Ooosterbeek

17 pounder anti-tank gun Hartenstein Oosterbeek


NVAA Gun Team Hartenstein Oosterbeek

Arnhem - Airborne Museum


The Hartenstein Hotel in Oosterbeek was used by General Urquhart as the HQ for the 1st Airborne Division. It now houses the Airborne Museum which tells the story of the battle for Arnhem.

Airborne Museum Oosterbeek

Airborne Memorial to the Dutch People
 
TO THE PEOPLE OF GELDERLAND
50 years ago British & Polish Airborne soldiers fought here against overwhelming odds to open the way into Germany and bring the war to an early end. Instead we brought death and destruction for which you have never blamed us.
This stone marks our admiration for your great courage remembering especially the women who tended our wounded. In the long winter that followed your families risked death by hiding Allied soldiers and airmen, while members of the Resistance helped many to safety.
You took us then into your homes as fugitives and friends we took you forever into our hearts.This strong bond will continue long after we are all gone.
1944 – September - 1994              
 
 


Air Crew Memorial
 
To the memory of the Royal Air Force, Commonwealth and United States Aircrew who died on Operation Market Garden, September 1944.
“In memoria aeterna”                                                                                                   

 



AB Museum - Hartenstein location of General Urquharts photograph


AB Museum - Hartenstein location of General Urquharts photograph