Article and some of these photos first published in the Oak Bay News, Nov 10, 2004
Click here to view nearly 1400 photos of 60th Anniversary Operation Market Garden
BACK TO ARNHEM, 60 YEARS LATER
article & photos by Jean James 2004
"I am a child of freedom. Thank you Mr. Veteran." were the words emblazoned on the backs of T-shirts worn by Dutch children during five days of commemorations of the 60th anniversary of Operation Market Garden in Holland this September. Operation Market Garden (The Battle of Arnhem) lasted last nine days, from September 17 to 26, 1944, and ended in defeat, yet the Dutch people are eternally grateful to the heroic veterans of the ambitious attempt by allied forces to liberate Holland.
Operation Market Garden was the code name given to the World War II military operation, attempting to capture the bridges of the main rivers of the German-occupied Netherlands, to enable the allies to advance into Germany. It was the largest airborne operation in history, and one of the boldest plans of World War II. It involved 5,000 aircraft, including gliders, and was carried out by three allied airborne divisions. Airborne forces were, and are, highly trained elite soldiers who arrive by aircraft or parachute into enemy territory for hit-and-run assaults, complete invasions, and/or the capture of vital installations and ground.
The battle for the bridges across the Rhine, as chronicled in the book and movie A Bridge Too Far, deployed 10,000 troops. It was successful up to the capture of the Rhine bridge at Nijmegen, but was an overall failure as, although the final bridge at Arnhem was reached on September 17, 1944 by 340 men of the 2nd Parachute Battalion and approximately 400 men from other units, it was not held, due to the inability of the rest of the 1st Airborne Divison to penetrate enemy lines. The surviving men were taken prisoner after four days. 
During the operation, the British 1st Airborne Division was all but completely destroyed. Of the 10,000 men who arrived in Holland, either as infantry in Horsa gliders towed by American-made Dakota aircraft, or as paratroopers jumping from planes, about 2,000 reached the village of Driel. The rest were killed, wounded or taken prisoner. Only 2,164 returned from the entire operation, swimming or paddling in small rubber boats, or small boats with outboard motors, across the Rhine, under cover of darkness, on the night of September 25/26, 1944, an escape that was facilitated primarily by the British Royal Engineers of XXX Corps and Royal Canadian Engineers. Unfortunately, many drowned in the crossing and, some 300 men (the wounded, the medics and padres) had to be left to fate on the north bank of the Rhine, only to die of wounds or be taken prisoner. Over 1600 men were killed in action. British intelligence had failed, both to anticipate the presence of the enemy in the drop zone, and to estimate the skill of enemy troops. Unknown to the allies, German soldiers were concealed in a heavily wooded area surrounding the drop zone area. Many of those killed had been targets for snipers, and 6,000 were taken as prisoners of war. Various errors in strategy and logistics contributed to this disaster. At the site of the crossing is a monument to the Royal Canadian Engineers.
The bridge reached by the men of the 2nd Parachute Battalion was later to be named The John Frost Bridge in honour of Lieutenant-Colonel John Frost, commander of the 2nd Parachute Battalion. This, of course, was the Bridge Too Far referred to in Cornelius Ryan's famous book. This year, however, the phrase "A Bridge To The Future" was used as a slogan in reference to the bridge, its renovations having been completed just in time for the 60th Anniversary of the battle. A donation from the widow of Lieutenant-Colonel Frost had made the renovations possible. Banners depicting the new slogan were draped over the bridge and displayed all over Arnhem and surrounding areas.
With mixed emotions, veterans marched across the newly renovated bridge after its unveiling. Most carried the sunflowers that had been presented to them as a symbol of the future. All were cheered by a huge crowd of admirers, many of whom were weeping. The majority now in their 80s, some shuffled behind walkers or were pushed in wheelchairs, while others were transported in vintage military vehicles representative of those deployed at the battle. “Pegasus”, the symbol of the airborne forces of World War II, was proudly displayed on the vehicles and sported by many of the veterans.
Throughout the week, children constantly begged autographs, yet the men themselves were modest, wondering why, after such a military disaster, they could be so loved and admired by the Dutch. 
“It’s because they came when nobody else would help us that we love these men so much.” was a sentiment that was heard over and over again in the streets. Even the German forces had held these men in high esteem for their fortitude and skill as soldiers. They are considered to be, by today’s airborne forces, the epitome of the airborne soldier. 
On September 18 this year, on Ginkel Heath, near Ede, 600 paratroopers from Britain, the United States, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic dropped onto one of the original landing grounds. Ten veterans, aged between 79 and 85, parachuted from vintage aircraft and landed safely on the exact spot where 2,000 troops of the 4th Parachute Brigade had dropped in September, 1944 – an area known as Drop Zone Yankee. Thousands of spectators cheered as the men, dressed in orange jump suits, arrived at the memorial afterwards. Vintage aircraft flew overhead and dozens of parachutes filled the air like floating parasols, as serving paratroopers and sport parachutists alike reenacted the scene as it had been sixty years ago, with one big difference: sixty years ago, the day had been windy and the ground had been ablaze. German snipers had shot at the paratroopers as they floated down, picking them off in the sky like clay shooting pigeons. Many landed in the trees. Les Lockett, 83, who jumped solo this year, had served as a company clerk with the 156 Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment. He was shot and wounded as he parachuted into Arnhem on September 18, 1944, yet he jumped again this year. The veterans described the day as “a doddle” compared with 1944. After the jump, they gathered for a solemn wreath-laying ceremony on the heath in memory of their fallen comrades.
In the tree-surrounded war cemetery of Oosterbeek, in the municipality of Renkum, are 1,678 graves of British and Commonwealth soldiers. The atmosphere has an all-pervading sense of peace, yet the rows and rows of graves have a dramatic impact on all who visit. Veterans and their families attended a religious service on September 19, at the cemetery.
The veterans, dignitaries, general public and security forces, swelled the crowd to around 15,000. V.I.P.s included H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, Colonel-in-Chief of the Parachute Regiment, and H.M. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. 
Many wreaths were placed on the memorial in the cemetery, including one placed by Prince Charles. The prayer of St. Ignatius, the patron saint of soldiers, was recited during the ceremony. The crowd was moved to tears as, towards the end, 1,000 schoolchildren, primarily Dutch, but including some schoolchildren from Orwell Park School in Ipswich, England, filed in and solemnly placed flowers on each grave. Finally, all was silent, save for the drone of Dakota aircraft flying low in the sky overhead, just as they had done over half a century before. 
Former Oak Bay resident, the late Ernest Hamlett of Newport Avenue, fought at Arnhem as a British airborne soldier. Hamlett's unit had been positioned not far from Oosterbeek, just outside of Arnhem, where the men held out for nine days, without food or water, and were running out of ammunition, which was depleted by September 25. His unit was not aware of the retreat across the Rhine, and was captured. Hamlett was one of only nine men in this unit left standing, even though he had a wounded ankle. The rest were either dead or lying wounded. A group of Germans emerged from the woods and surrounded them at gunpoint. Along with other prisoners of war, Hamlett was locked in a dark and filthy railroad cattle car, transported to the infamous Stalag XIB prison camp, and used as slave labour in the Bad Grund lead mine in Germany.
Some seven months later, as the allies advanced, he was then forced to march across Germany in one of the macabre marches known as Death Marches.
This year, in the town of Oosterbeek, near the war cemetery, a memorial tree was planted on the grounds of the Town Hall in Hamlett's honour, and Burgomaster Mr. Piet Bruinooge of the City of Renkum unveiled an official memorial stone and plaque dedicated to Hamlett on September 17, 2004, the 60th anniversary of his landing. In attendance was Burgomaster Mr. Inz Piotre Downar of Debno, Renkum’s twin town in Poland, and Hamlett’s family. The memorial stone had been draped with one of the new banners, displaying the slogan “A Bridge to the Future”; it was given to his family after the unveiling. 
A private lunch followed in the Burgomaster’s office. 
As a battalion within the British 6th Airborne Division, Canadians took part in several major operations on the European theatre. Six months after the battle of Arnhem, on March 23rd, 1945, the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion played a major part in the crossing of the Rhine – an operation code named "Varsity". The battalion was part of a concentration of paratroopers and gliders under U.S. 8th Airborne Corps, whose objective was to capture and hold a wooded area above the point where allied troops could cross the river. Despite its indomitable courage, the 1st Canadian Paratroop Battalion incurred heavy losses. The mission, however, was successful, as the 6th Airborne Division, with its Canadian Battalion, was sent towards the plains of Northern Germany and the Baltic sea. In trucks, on tanks and, at time, on foot, Canadian paratroopers broke through enemy defence lines and crossed the Dortmund-Ems Canal in Ladbergen, the Weser near Celle, and then the Elbe in Lauenbourg. Eventually, German troops offered little resistance, often surrendering without fighting. The 3rd Parachute Brigade, under Lt-Col Fraser Eadie, reached Wismar on May 2nd, 1945.
Six days later, the war was over.
“ I am a child of freedom. Thank you Mr. Veteran”
We will remember them.
May 4 is Remembrance Day in the Netherlands, and May 5 is Liberation Day. VE Day is May 8.
FOR MORE ON ERNEST HAMLETT, SEE THE OTHER STORIES:
"Hamlett, Prince of Oak Bay" and "Blackcurrant Jam"
