Paras leap into Second World War commemoration

By [csheridan]

WHEN paratroopers heard about a drop onto the site of a battlefield immortalised in the film A Bridge Too Far, they jumped at the chance – literally.

Eight members of 299 (Parachute Squadron) Royal Engineers took part in the mass jump over Arnhem in Holland.

It was the scene of a major battle in September 1944, which left more than 2,000 members of the British Airborne Forces dead.

And members of the Territorial Army unit, based at Middleton Barracks in Calvert Lane, west Hull, were invited to join other British and European forces for the memorial jump.

Captain Chris Wilcock, who has seen recent frontline action in Iraq and Afghanistan, took part in the recent jump.

He said: "As I walked away from the drop-zone, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

"The nostalgia of it all made for a very special day."

The crack unit, which has earned the right to wear the famous maroon beret, jumped at 900ft from a modern Hercules C130 aircraft.

Capt Wilcock said: "With military parachuting, there is always a build-up of anxiety prior to landing on a drop zone.

"But you can't begin to imagine what it must have felt for those guys who were forced to land in enemy territory in a foreign country.

"Those soldiers who dropped at Arnhem in the war deserve a lot of praise. Parachuting into the unknown takes a lot of courage."

After the drop, members of 299 (Parachute Squadron) Royal Engineers attended a service of remembrance next to the landing zone.

Soldiers were then taken to a Commonwealth cemetery in the town of Oosterbeek, where they visited graves.

Capt Wilcock said: "The most poignant part of it all was seeing the children adopt and maintain the graves of British soldiers.

"Children over there are taught from a very early age about the fact that British Airborne Forces came to liberate their country.

"The Dutch people have an awful lot of respect and gratitude for our military."

During the mission – codenamed Operation Market Garden – the British 1st Airborne Division and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade were given the task of securing the bridge at Arnhem.

The units were parachuted and glider-landed into the area on September 17 and later.

The bulk of the force was dropped far from the bridge and never met their objective.

A small force of British 1st Airborne managed to make their way as far as the bridge, but was unable to secure both sides.

The Allied troops encountered stiff resistance from the German 9th and 10th SS Panzer divisions, which had been stationed in and around the city.

The British force at the bridge eventually surrendered on September 21, and a full withdrawal of the remaining forces was made on September 26.

The all-star cast of the 1977 film, A Bridge Too Far, included Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford and Anthony Hopkins.