Embedded Files
As far as I can ascertain Dad was involved in one major airborne invasion during the second world war, operation Varsity. He survived a highly successful operation even though the odds were stacked against him for the following reasons:
One week before the operation a rehearsal flight codenamed 'Token' consisting of 6 Horsa's with Stirling and Halifax Tugs and one Hamilcar with Halifax tug flew over the Rhine with fighter aircraft escort. They returned without incident but this undoubtedly signalled an imminent large airborne invasion was likely. The Germans would also be aware of the build up of troops on the west-side of the Rhine.
The intention was that the German anti-aircraft defences be suppressed prior to the invasion by heavy bombardment. The bombing proved ineffectual and the defences were far from crushed.
The heavy bombing created a heavy ground haze. Many recognisable landmarks and the target areas were obliterated when the gliders arrived.
As a result some gliders were released at 3,500 feet rather than 2,500 feet as planned and this increased their vulnerability.
The Hamilcar was slower, less manoeuvrable and presented a larger target to the German gunners. it appears to me that Dad landed in an unbelievable amount of enemy flak.
With a landing time at the end of the landing schedule the Germans were well aware of the airborne attack.
Once on the ground the gliders continued to be hit and destroyed by enemy fire.
Most of the German guns were to the NW of Hammingkeln and nearest LZ "B"
I believe that he was in one of the 5 Hamilcars that crashed or were damaged on landing to the extent that they were unable to unload there cargo. I also believe that the 3 troops in the Hamilcar did not survive.
The Para's sketch 42 below shows a Germany counter attack at 5.30 towards the area where Dad had landed.
An account from a Glider Pilot
The Rhine was horrendous because the German’s had the measure of us by then. The bullets were zipping through the sides because they were only plywood with fabric glued over the top, they were very flimsy things and the bullets were literally coming in through one side and you could see the holes they went out on the other. But what they were doing by then, because they had got onto it by then, by Arnhem, probably even by Normandy for that matter because they saw how easy they could set them on fire so they fired incendiaries at us. There were loads and loads of those gliders that went over the Rhine, they came in and they were literally like a flying bonfire, the whole thing was a massive flame, they flew over us and there were these guys dropping out, jumping out and screaming and the glider just crashing into whatever it hit, quite often other gliders and then set them on fire as well. Yes, the Rhine was a very hairy old time, far worse than Normandy.
Editor of the Folkstone, Hythe & District Herald
On the 24th March 1945 the editor of the Folkstone, Hythe & District Herald wrote, “Mighty to behold shall we ever forget that massive armada of the skies that passed over our heads on Saturday morning March 24th : that vast airborne army that filled the heavens and set our ears throbbing with the roar of the great four-engined machines that carried our parachute troops and towed gliders. I do not think in all my life I have seen a sight that so stirred me. As the great winged army passed in steady procession across the skies it seemed as if a veritable canopy had been placed over this England of ours, a canopy that moved along and yet seemed never to be completely ended”
Operation Varsity was the single largest successful lift of airborne forces ever undertaken. A daring collaboration between British and American Airborne Divisions, it played a vital role in the final assault on Germany. The operation took place on 24th March 1945 and was the spearhead of what became known as the Rhine Crossing. Forty-three gliders were flown from Earls Colne Airfield to the north of the Estate. These formed part of the aerial armada, which included over 1,300 British and American gliders. The Airborne contribution towards this operation was to capture and hold the town of Hamminkeln, along with 3 vital bridges over the River Issel.
The British gliders were piloted by men from the British Army’s Glider Pilot Regiment. However, due to the heavy losses of Glider Pilots at Arnhem (Market Garden) in September 1944, RAF pilots were seconded to the Glider Pilot Regiment and trained as Glider Pilots to take part in this final operation of WW2. More than 100 of these pilots lost their lives.
He survived this fire-storm and made it to the local established HQ. He may then have escorted German POW's back to the Rhine where they handed them on.
His Varsity Timetable
Month and year: March 1945
22nd March 1945
Place: Woodbridge
1400 - Address by Colonel CHATTERTON of the Glider Pilot Regiment followed by preliminary briefing. The A.O.C. wished us all good luck.
23rd March 1945
Place: Woodbridge
1000 - All aircraft run up and generally got on the top line.
1400 - Escape kits issued.
1730 - All aircraft marshalled for take-off East to West, a very impressive sight.
24th March 1945
Place: Woodbridge
0720 - OPERATION "VARSITY". The object of the operation was to land elements of the 6th Airborne Division on four landing zones near WESEL to enlarge a bridgehead expected to have been obtained the previous night by General Montgomery's forces.
For this purpose No.298 Squadron and No.644 Squadron combined. W/C LAW-WRIGHT, D.S.O. D.F.C. led twelve Halifax-Horsa combinations serial B.15. W/C ARCHER, A.F.C. of No.644 Squadron led 48 Halifax-Hamilcar combinations serial B.16.
Eleven Horsa's and thirty eight Hamilcars reached the release points successfully. The operation was considered a success.
Crews from this Squadron towing Horsa's were, W/C LAW-WRIGHT, D.S.O. D.F.C., F/O BLAIR, F/O WILLIAMS, F/O WILSON, F/S HAWKINS and F/O POLLARD. Crews towing Hamilcars were, S/L STARK, D.F.C., F/L ALTY, F/L JOHNSON, D.F.C., F/O ATKINSON, F/O REID, P/O MUTTON, W/O OUSELEY, W/O PARSONS, F/O WATKINS, F/O SCOTT, F/O MCGILLIVRAY, F/O WILLIAMS, S/L IMBER, D.F.C., F/L LEE, F/O GRIFFITHS,P/O CUNLIFFE, W/O MACKRILL, F/O BUCHANAN, F/O BOWMAN, F/O IRELAND, F/L WEATHERLAKE, F/O RODGERS, D.F.M., F/L WEBLEY, F/S ASHTON and F/O CLARK.
Final briefing was at 05.30 hours on the 24th. The first Hamilcar combination was off at 07.19 hours. The first Horsa combination was off at 07.58 hours.
(This is the Halifax that towed Dad to the release position over the Rhine)
Aircraft Type & Number: Halifax III 8AP NZ.977. Crew: F/O BLAIR C.S. R.N.Z.A.F. (Captain), SGT HOBBS W.J. (Navigator), SGT CAMBRAY R.E. (Air Bomber), F/S TROW H.H. (WOP/AIR), SGT HOWES R.S.P. (Air Gunner), SGT YATES K.E. (Flight Engineer). Time Up: 07.55. Time Down: 13.05. Details of sortie or flight: Operation "VARSITY" Horsa glider, duty carried out.
https://www.pegasusarchive.org/varsity/frames.htm War Diaries - 298 Squadron
Gliders (British)
239
Pilots
478
RAF Deaths on 24/3/1945
55
% of pilots
11.51%
4th Air Landing Anti Tank Battery RA
National Archives catalogue number WO 171/4760.
24th March 1945
Place: Hamminkeln
Battery landed E. of the Rhine. Only 2 x 6 pounders, 2 x 17 pounders (pdr) had arrived at the end of the day. Capt Trease, Lts Hart and Robinson only officers who arrived. Capt Trease assumed command of Battery.
25th March 1945
Place: Hamminkeln
No move. Sgt Whittal complete with crew & 17 pdr came up having force landed near Bourg-Leopold: 2 extra 6 pdrs came under command the Battery.
26th March 1945
Place: Hamminkeln
Bty moved East of Hamminkeln with 5 Para Bde.
The above is from the book The Last Drop which says Chalk Number 238 was a Horsa, so now not sure what Dad flew?
Below is the wikipedia version of Operation Varsity in which he clearly played an important part.
Main article: Operation Varsity
By March 1945, the Allied armies had advanced into Germany and had reached the River Rhine. The Rhine was a formidable natural obstacle to the Allied advance,[63] but if breached would allow the Allies to access the North German Plain and ultimately advance on Berlin and other major cities in Northern Germany. Following the "Broad Front Approach" laid out by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, it was decided to attempt to breach the Rhine in several areas.[64] Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, commanding the British 21st Army Group, devised a plan to allow the forces under his command to breach the Rhine, which he entitled Operation Plunder, and which was subsequently authorized by Eisenhower. Plunder envisioned the British Second Army under Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey and the U.S. Ninth Army under Lieutenant General William Simpson crossing the Rhine on three fronts; atRees, Wesel, and in the area south of the Lippe Canal. To ensure the operation's success, Montgomery insisted that the amphibious assaults be supported by an airborne landing, which was code-named Operation Varsity.[65] Varsity was initially planned with three airborne divisions in mind, with all three to be dropped behind German lines in support of 21st Army Group as it conducted its amphibious assaults to breach the Rhine. However, during the earliest stages of planning, it became apparent to the planners that the 13th Airborne Division would be unable to participate in the operation, as there were only enough combat transport aircraft in the area to effectively transport two divisions.[66] The plan for the operation was therefore altered to accommodate the two remaining airborne divisions, the British 6th Airborne and the US 17th Airborne Division. The two airborne divisions would be dropped behind German lines, with their objective to land around Wesel and disrupt enemy defences in order to aid the advance of the British Second Army towards Wesel.[67]
6th Airborne Division would be dropped in a single lift, unlike Operation Market-Garden, and was to seize the high ground north of the town of Bergen, capture the town of Hamminkeln and several bridges over the river IJssel, and then hold the northern portion of the operational area until relieved by Allied ground forces.[68] The division would utilize 440 gliders for the operation, which included a large number of the new Horsa Mark II and 48 Hamilcars.[69] The loads assigned to the Hamilcars were similar to those used during Operation Market-Garden, with sixteen of the gliders transporting 17-pounder anti-tank guns, as well as their vehicles and crews. Twelve were assigned to 716th Airborne Light Composite Company of the Royal Army Service Corps, and were loaded with twelve Universal Carriers, trailers and stores of ammunition and equipment.[70]The company were to use the Universal Carriers and trailers, along with transport to be provided by 6th Airlanding Brigade, to collect, control and issue supplies dropped by aerial resupply drops to the airborne troops as they fought.[71] Eight Hamilcars were to transport M22 Locust light tanks which belonged to 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment, and another four were to carry panniers of supplies. Two more were to carry a single Royal Engineers D4 bulldozer each, and finally 3rd Parachute Brigade and 5th Parachute Brigade were assigned three Hamilcars each; these would each carry a Universal Carrier for use as transport by the headquarters staff of the brigades.[70]
All of the gliders successfully took off at 07:20 on 24 March, but seven were lost en route to the landing zones, the majority being forced to cast off and land in Allied territory due to their tugs suffering engine failures; however, one Hamilcar which carried an M22 Locust broke up in mid-air as it approached the Rhine, possibly due to structural failure, and all aboard were killed.[72] Three more of the gliders were destroyed by German anti-aircraft fire as they approached the landing zones, as their slow speed made them easy targets. The thirty-eight that remained landed successfully between 10:46 and 11:00, although a number of them suffered damage from anti-aircraft fire. Particularly hard hit were the Hamilcars that carried the RASC personnel and supplies; eight landed successfully, but only three were sufficiently undamaged to allow the stores they carried to be recovered.[72] Of the eight Hamilcars that transported the M22 Locusts of 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment, seven reached the landing zones intact but had problems when they landed due to anti-aircraft fire and smoke obscuring the area. Four landed safely, but the other three came under heavy German anti-aircraft fire and crashed as they landed; one tank survived with a damaged machine gun, another crashed through a house which put its wireless radio set and main armament out of action, and the third broke loose of the glider as it landed and was flipped over onto its turret, which rendered it useless.[73] After the operation had come to an end, a few of the undamaged Hamilcars were dismantled and their parts shipped to England to aid in the construction of further gliders.[74]
Glider Landing Zones around Hamminkeln 24/3/1945
A Universal Carrier unloaded from a Hamilcar glider during Operation Varsity
It would appear that the anti tank gun and jeep Dad was transporting were destined for DZ/LZ "N" but his landing zone was "B"
https://www.paradata.org.uk/media/340
A Plot of all the gliders based on aerial photos taken 24th and 25th March 1945
Landing area from Google Maps
For Varsity it is notable that many of the glider pilots were from the RAF. The GPR had suffered so many casualties at Arnhem that it was unable to fulfil future operational requirements. This stage of the war meant that there was too little time to train new Army pilots yet there was a surplus of RAF pilots and so to rectify the GPR's shortage some 1,500 from the RAF's reserve pool volunteered (or were volunteered) to retrain from bombers to gliders. Once on the ground the British glider pilots were active combatants trained in a range of weapons, so once attached to the Glider Pilot Regiment the RAF's pilots received small-arms instruction and field training. Wherever possible, inexperienced RAF GPs were paired as crew with experienced Army GPs.
No 1 Wing of the GPR delivered the airlanding elements of 6th Airborne Division in 'tactical' (as opposed to mass) landings in the locality of Hamminkeln, approximately 6 miles north of the 1,500 feet-wide river Rhine at Wesel (which was some 50 miles upstream from Arnhem). The airborne landings took place between 10:21 - 10:57 hrs across 6 LZs, part of the largest single-day glider lift of WW2, and occurred after that mornings successful crossing of the Rhine by river assault craft carrying infantry units.
Despite the weather being good with little cloud cover and excellent visibility, the drop and landing zones were hidden under a 300 feet thick layer of smoke which effectively hid all navigation points and obliterated the outlines of fields. This was the consequence of intense German anti aircraft fire combined with Allied aerial bombing, artillery shelling and a thick smoke screen which had preceded the earlier infantry river-crossing and advance.
The British glider release had been planned for an altitude of 2,500 feet but because of overrunning by serials further back in the air column, some gliders were released as high as 3,500 feet. Regrettably, the long, slow descent from such a high altitude made the gliders especially vulnerable to German flak. Many of the gliders that survived the anti-aircraft fire became landing casualties due to the poor visibility on approach compounded by the relative inexperience of some of the crews. Once on the ground many gliders were hit by enemy fire with 32 being destroyed before they could be unloaded. Less than 25% of the gliders that reached the assault area were undamaged.
The smoke-obscured and chaotic landings meant that the fighting in the still smoke-covered fields was confused, with airborne troopers and glider pilots struggling to find other members of their units. Much of the immediate fighting was conducted by scratch units which could well have come as a particular shock to some of the combat-inexperienced glider pilots attached from the RAF. Some of the RAF GPs wore the blue-grey beret which during the ground combat served to compound their situation, the beret as it was being easily mistaken for enemy headgear (and following Op. Varsity it was thus suggested that all RAF GPs wear the maroon beret).
As night fell, troops dug in to hold their positions before successfully linking up with the advancing infantry the next morning. Their part in the operation done, some 500 men of the GPR then escorted 2,500 prisoners back to the Rhine, where they were turned over to MPs: the pilots then crossed back over the river to where a camp had been set up with hot food and showers - the "Rhine Hotel".
Nearby cities: Duisburg, Essen, Düsseldorf
Coordinates: 51°37'47"N 6°39'58"E
Add your comment in english
Extract from the History of RAF Woodbridge
From 19th to 24th March 1945 the airfield took on a new role. Woodbridge was temporarily closed for emergency landings due to its involvement in the build-up for Operation Varsity – the airborne support for the U.S. Ninth and British Second Armies crossing of the Rhine. The enormous air armada consisted of more than 1,500 USAAF aircraft and gliders and 1,200 RAF aircraft and gliders. Fighter cover was provided by 880 aircraft from both the USAAF and RAF. The size of this operation can only be appreciated when you consider that there was a time-span of two-and-a-half hours covering the first and last aircraft. 60 Halifax tow aircraft from Nos. 298 and 644 Squadrons and 60 gliders (48 Hamilcars and 12 Horsas), containing troops, tanks and other armoured vehicles, departed from Woodbridge at 06:00 on 24th March, all were airborne within 40 minutes. Although Operation Varsity was deemed a success there were substantial Allied casualties.
http://www.paradata.org.uk/media/859?mediaSection=Official+documents
Lists the loading details for the 12 hamilcar Gliders 716 Co RASC Para Light 6th A Div. Number 3 on the list names three paratroopers. H C Goulder, Humphries and Pickering. Were these three in the back of the Hamilcar Dad was piloting?
Lots of photos of the assault on Hemmingkeln http://www.paradata.org.uk/media/859?mediaSection=Photos
And videos http://www.paradata.org.uk/media/859?mediaSection=videos
And the story of a Glider Pilot http://www.paradata.org.uk/article/859/related/59795
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205210677
Follow this link for a photo of Operation VARSITY. General Aircraft Hamilcars and Airspeed Horsas, flanked by Handley Page Halifax A Mark VII glider tugs of Nos. 298 and 644 Squadrons RAF, lined up and ready for take-off at Woodbridge, Suffolk. The Woodbridge Emergency Landing Ground was closed on 19 March 1945 for five days as 68 aircraft/glider combinations flew in, 60 of which took part in the operation. Dad's Hamilcar will be in this picture somewhere and he must have been at the base preparing.
Also found this picture from RAF Woodbridge. Guess Dad would have been near the back as he was one of the last to land.
There is also a very good first hand account at https://www.gliderpilotregiment.org.uk/operations
Staff-Sergeant John Harold Jenkins
Unit : No.2 Flight, "A" Squadron, No.1 Wing, The Glider Pilot Regiment
Army No. : 5627278
Jack Jenkins enlisted into the Devonshire Regiment on the 20th June 1940, and volunteered for the Glider Pilot Regiment in 1942. On the 18th September 1944, he and his second pilot, 1444200 Sergeant Ernest Ronald Wood, took-off for Arnhem in Horsa glider chalk no.974. He submitted the following account of what ensued, to Bob Hilton in 1997.
Load on Operation Market: Jeep. Trailer of ammo. 1 Lieut. 1 Corporal. 2 Privates RASC.
Glider: Horsa Mk.1. HG983.
Tug Aircraft: Stirling.
The Regiment called for approx 1000 volunteers in August 1942. I did my flying training on an RAF Course at Burnaston, Derby, flying DH82 Tiger Moths, & Miles Magisters. The course completed successfully I went to Shobden near Hereford, and converted to Hotspur Gliders holding 2 pilots and 8 men. The next step was to Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where I converted to Mk.1 Horsas, behind Whitleys. (Tug aircraft at Shobden were Lysanders and Miles Masters). The Squadron was formed at Hurn Airfield in August 1943, and then moved to Harwell, Berks.
It was here on 17th September 1944 that I took off for Arnhem [Note: the date is incorrect, it should read 18th September]. Unfortunately just as I was Airborne, the Stirling developed a fault in the port inner engine and I had to pull off and do an emergency landing just inside the perimeter.
We took off again on 19th September, this time as a loan glider combination, with orders to link up with the Polish Airborne over the channel. Owing to patch cloud we failed to locate them and on approaching the enemy coast, we encountered troublesome flak.
I called up the Tug Pilot on the intercom, which was carried through the cabletow, and asked him what he thought of the situation. He replied that he had heard over the radio that all Landing Zones at Arnhem were in enemy hands, but he left the final decision to me.
The flak started again as we turned north towards the Dutch border and so I decided to pull off, in order to give the Stirling better evasive action, and continue our journey by road, with the jeep and trailer.
We eventually arrived at Nijmegen and reported to HQ where Colonel S.G. Griffith and SSM K. Mew were stationed. We were given permission to continue our journey to Arnhem, but when we were on the way a few miles on, SSM Mew chased us in his jeep and ordered me to turn back and report to HQ where I was to remain.
My second Pilot had already decided to stay behind, so I returned with the SSM and the jeep crew left us. I never heard what happened to them.
After Arnhem, Jenkins took part in the Rhine Crossing. The following was written in 1988.
"A" Squadron of the Glider Pilot Regiment, in the Army Air Corps attached to the British Airborne Divisions, had been in feverish training for several months, practicing mass take-offs and landings, first at Harwell in Berkshire and finally at Rivenhall, in Essex, for the forthcoming Rhine-crossing and my new Co-pilot, F/Sgt K. "Andy" Anderson of the RAF, proved to be a very reliable companion.
Owing to very heavy casualties on the Arnhem Operation, the previous September, the Regiment which had been composed purely of Army volunteers, had need to call on the services of volunteer RAF pilots recently returned from their training in Canada, to make up strength. I helped to run a Battle Course, near Newbury, in order to teach them how to look after themselves on the ground.
The morning dawned, when we were called to a pre-operation briefing, to find that our glider combination had been selected, together with eleven others, for a special assault on the small village of Hamminkeln, a village about eight miles further east of the main dropping zones near Rees and three miles south of Dingden.
The plan was for twelve gliders in the "Coup de Main" force to cross the River Rhine at Rees and head eastward for Dingden at a height of 3,000 ft, being towed by Stirling aircraft. The River Issel and the road to Wesel, running side by side, crossed their track about two miles west of Dingden. This was to be our point of release after a signal from an Aldis lamp, from the rear gunners turret... the glider pilot pulling his release knob, which separated the glider from the towrope. An immediate 90 degree turn to starboard would thus give three miles of freeflight, heading due south for Hamminkeln.
A beautiful scale model of the village had been made by the intelligence boys and each glider combination was shown their exact point of landing, in order to ring the target.
My friend of flying school days at Derby, S/Sgt J E Edwards, with whom I had shared the same instructor, Flying Officer Harry Horsfall from New Zealand, was briefed to land in the large back garden of a house. This he miraculously did and secured the house as a temporary H.Q.
My own point of landing was in the middle of a small field, just beyond the cemetery, near a farmhouse and windmill. My track therefore, was a free flight of three miles, a turn to port over the Church spire, lower flaps and approach the cemetery. Not a very good omen, I thought, but at least a good landmark! My track therefore, was down, we were to rendezvous in the village, under Capt Tony Turner, OBE., in order to organise the civilians. Unfortunately, our beloved instructor, Harry Horsfall, was reported to have been killed on a bombing mission. I like to think that we did not let him down!
The briefing having been successfully completed, we then met the troops, who were to accompany us. To my great surprise and delight on both sides, I found my "live load" consisted of a section of my old Devonshire Regiment, some of whom I had commanded as a platoon sergeant. I can still see the relief on the faces of three of them, as they greeted their old sergeant, no doubt thinking "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."
The morning of March 24, 1945, was fine and clear and after an uneventful take-off, we soon linked up with the mainstream. What a stirring sight, glider combinations as far as the eye could see, with an umbrella of fighter escort that put heart into us all. I could not help wondering what would happen though, when we parted from the main force and went off into the blue!
We eventually crossed the River Rhine at Rees as planned and then our troubles started. General Montgomery, in giving effective cover for his ground assault over the river, had laid smoke screens, which together with some thin low cloud, completely obscured the ground below. We were therefore in the hands of our tug crew up front and prayed that the navigator's dead-reckoning would give us the correct point of release.
Suddenly, the green Aldis lamp flashed from the gunner's turret and so with a waggle of our wings as a thank you and a "This is it Skipper" from my co-pilot, we were released from our tow. The wind noise lessened as our airspeed dropped off from 130 to 90 mph our gliding speed when fully laden.
Selecting a quick trim on the controls, I took a look at the starboard wingtip, noticed that it was pointing at a slightly darker patch in the cloud and turned sharply towards it, until we were heading straight for the patch, this executing a 90 degree turn, without having to worry about the compass during the turn.
We glided gently down, completely isolated and our only compass reading told us we were heading in the right direction - due south. Then the fireworks started - a series of ominous thumps from all around us, a swishing sound nearby, as another glider plunged earthwards, with pieces falling from its burning fuselage. Our altimeter was reading a fraction under 2,000 feet and still we could not see the ground. Andy stuck his head through to the rear and called for safety belts to be fasetened. It was then that I decided to take a chance.
I would do a blind box-turn on wingtip and compass and lose 200 feet on each of the east, north and west legs. I would then turn south again on to my original heading and pray that we had not drifted too far off track. This I did and a little under 1400 feet showed on the clock as we turned on our 180 degree reading once more. One of the great dangers when gliding "blind" is overshooting the target - one can always look for the area ahead, but once the target has passed behind, all is lost.
Andy by this time had discarded his safety belt and was coolly standing up in the cockpit, peering down into the murk. Suddenly, he gave a great shout - "Church spire ahead, Skipper, ten degrees starboard". Thank God for the R.A.F. and good old Andy in particular, I thought fervantly. Looking across, I saw for the first time in my life, a miracle. The smoke was still a blanket, but just about half a mile ahead, or so it seemed from our height of approximately 1000 feet, was a small circular opening in the haze, about the size of a dinner plate and up through this hole, that beautiful church spire was pointing triumphantly to the heavens.
I altered course slightly, turned over the spire at 600 feet, put on full flap and made a model approach. The ground suddenly appeared a few hundred feet below, the stones in the cemetery were standing out stark and white! Down we went, the airspeed now down to 75 mph and, leaving a small chunk of our starboard wingtip up a tree, we touched down in a soft ploughed field. We finally came to rest about 100 yards from our planned touchdown, practically intact.
In seconds, our passengers were scrambling out, two being sniped as they did so. Andy and I followed suit, after automatically setting the flaps to neutral. (Such is the habit of long training!) We hastily set up the beloved Bren gun in one of the deep furrows, alongside the glider and we were in business!
As we lay there, with tracer shooting overhead, Andy, remembering his Battle School instruction, casually remarked, "Comforting thought Timo that most of the muck is a foot above the tracer, don't you think?" and he took up position on the ground alongside, with magazines at the ready for a quick change.
We gave the Devons covering fire, whilst they unloaded their equipment and they then advanced to the edge of the field, taking cover behing a hedgerow. The spasmodic fire was still a little troublesome, so we engaged the snipers, who were holed-up in a house several hundred yards ahead.
After a few short bursts from our Bren, things seemed to quieten down and Andy remembered the flask of tea, still in the cockpit of our Glider. I made a dash for this and after retrieving the flask, still in its padded casing, we both retired to the lee of a farmhouse wall. When the cap was unscrewed, we found to our great chagrin, that a stray bullet had gone clean through the bottom of the thermos and the contents had saturated the inside of its casing. "Oh well, it was probably cold anyway"! said Andy.
We then decided to take our leave of the Devons and cautiously made our way through the churchyard, to our Glider Regimental HQ the rendezvous being a general shop, in the village square, of Hamminkeln. The officer commanding our small party, Capt Turner OBE, was busily organizing the round-up of all the civilians; the women and children being accommodated in the church and the men, in the church hall. Several Dutchmen, who were on forced-labour, were overjoyed at our presence and were put on their own, in the vestry, to their great delight.
Our shop HQ was just across the courtyard, and my particular job was to guard access to the wine cellar below - a job which unbeknown to me at the time, was to start me off on the road to being a real wine lover, and eventually something of a connoisseur. Some of the locals, under escort, were detailed to milk the cows, in order to provide relief for the animals and sustenance for the children, whilst each woman was allowed to go home, also under escort, and bring back one suitcase of necessities.
I well remember how my protegé, with her small child, ran the whole way back to her cottage, with repeated fearful glances over her shoulder at the awful "Red Devil" accompanying her. When we arrived at her home, she found that she had mislaid the key and I had to restrain her from scrambling through a window of broken glass, in her terror.
I entered myself and let her in through the door and she then hastily grabbed a large suitcase, which was already packed in readiness for emergencies. After a quick search, I gave the OK and we retraced our steps to the church. "But for the Grace of God, these might have been our own women folk", I thought and as graciously as I could, took the heavy bag from her trembling fingers and carried it the rest of the way.
In the evening, the Germans counter attacked and used the church spire as an aiming-point for their artillery. We had several casualties amongst the civilians, as one shell burst in the organ loft and another beside the pump, in the courtyard outside.
That night, our friends the Dutchmen were noisily singing, until the early hours and we found next morning, when inspecting the wine-cellars, that a passageway led from them, under the courtyard, to a trapdoor in the floor of the Vestry, the cellar being sealed off under normal conditions, by an iron door, which by some strange coincidence had been left unlocked. They had obviously been celebrating their release from captivity, with some well chosen bottles of Hock.
The following day, the battle had quietened down and our HQ Runner, a certain enterprising NCO with equestrian tendencies, found himself a saddled hack and his running was therefore done on four legs instead of two.
The Ground Forces, eventually linked up with us, much to our relief and we had orders to proceed some miles back from the front, to Army HQ on the main landing zone. A detailed "Order of March" was therefore prepared which I believe, is still in the possession of S/Sgt J E Edwards who was eventually awarded the DFM for his part in the landings.
Briefly, the Glider Pilots were to proceed from Hamminkeln, back to RHQ on bicycles. (In the approved GPR resourceful manner!) Our bagged being towed behind in the various wooden hand-carts that abounded in that part of Germany and our walking wounded, were to be classified as "Baggages"! Our Scout cum Runner, would of course bring up the rear mounted on horseback. However, at the last moment, we decided not to deprive the locals of their transport and so the two dozen or so of our little party footslogged our way back, instead.
Our arrival at RHQ and our re-union with the remainder of our Squadron, was greeted with the typical remark - "Where did you lot get to?".
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