Latest news with #OperationMarketGarden
ITV News
a day ago
- General
- ITV News
Battle of Arnhem veteran from Peterborough made MBE days before 100th birthday
A veteran who fought in the Battle of Arnhem has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours, just weeks before his 100th birthday. Geoffrey Roberts, from Peterborough, is being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem and to charity. Mr Roberts' daughter, Claire Welburn, said her father had been surprised when he found out about the news. 'His first words actually were, 'I'm not very happy about that',' she said. 'It's taken him a while to come to terms with it, because he always says, 'I didn't do anything'. 'I keep saying to him, 'it's not about what you did in the war, Dad, it's about what you've done since, it's about your act of remembrance'.' She added: 'He always says, 'the heroes are the ones lying in the cemetery', and he's just one of the lucky ones.' Ms Welburn said she was 'immensely proud' of her father, who she described as having been committed to 'keeping the story [of the Battle of Arnhem] alive'. She said they had been trying to keep the honour a secret from friends until Mr Roberts' 100th birthday on 28 June. Mr Roberts, who was born in the Chelsea Barracks in London in 1925, signed up in 1942. On 17 September 1944, he flew into the Netherlands as part of Operation Market Garden – depicted in the 1977 Hollywood film A Bridge Too Far – which saw 35,000 British, American and Polish troops parachute or glide behind German lines. While the operation succeeded in capturing the Dutch cities of Eindhoven and Nijmegen, it failed in its key objective – securing the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem. A defensive battle was fought until the order to withdraw was given on 25 September. More than 8,000 British soldiers were killed, missing or captured in the offensive. Mr Roberts was captured on 26 September, with a German officer giving him some cigarettes and telling him, 'for you, the war is over'. He was sent to a prisoner-of-war camp and put to work in a coal mine until the end of the war. In May 1945, Russian troops came to release the soldiers from the camp, telling them to wait for the Allies to come. After a week of waiting, Mr Roberts and two other soldiers decided they had had enough. Ms Welburn said: 'My dad always tells the story that he and two friends 'liberated' some German officers' bicycles, and the three of them cycled to try and get back to the UK as quickly as they could. 'They got to a junction and the three of them had a discussion about which was the right way. 'One soldier went one way, and dad and his friend went the other, and they never saw the other soldier again.' Ms Welburn said her father goes back to the Netherlands to pay his respects every year. 'Every time he goes back, it's very emotional, every year we always go to Oosterbeek Commonwealth War Cemetery,' she said. 'He goes straight to his two friends Plummer and Brown, who died during the battle.' She said her father wanted to praise the Taxi Charity, which has been instrumental in helping him go back each year and 'help keep dad's story alive'.
BBC News
04-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Dover charity shop staff reunite WW2 bible with airman's family
A Bible that once belonged to a World War Two airman has been returned to his family in Scotland, after being handed in to a charity in book had been given to Flying Officer Norman McEwen by the National Bible Society of was discovered in the Dover shop of the Emmaus charity, an organisation which helps the homeless back into family said the Bible will be blessed at the next gathering of the McEwen family, to be held near Loch Fyne. Support worker Jackie Pearson, also a military veteran, set herself the task of finding Mr McEwen's said: "Being ex-military, I knew as soon as I saw the service Bible that it was very precious, and I needed to return it to Norman's family."With the help of local historian Phil Eyden, she was able to establish that Mr McEwen, originally from Baldernock, had been a rear gunner on a Short Stirling bomber in 190 was killed when his plane was shot down over Arnhem in the Netherlands on 19 September 1944 as they dropped ammunition and supplies to troops taking part in Operation Market Garden, an unsuccessful attempt to break into northern Germany. The Bible has since been returned to Mr McEwen's great-great-nephew, Ross said: "Norman's only surviving child, Rognvald, spoke very highly of his father."Even as a man in his late 80s, he remained full of pride in his father's part in the saving of liberty and freedom, even though that same service resulted in Rognvald's time with his father being cut abruptly and tragically short."
Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Times
Boleslaw Ostrowski obituary: Polish ‘bridge too far' paratrooper
The Poles could be magnificent fighters, but at times also turbulent allies. Perhaps the most celebrated turbulence came during Operation Market Garden, Field Marshal Montgomery's ambitious attempt in September 1944 to 'bounce' a crossing of the Rhine at Arnhem. As a lance corporal in the signal company of Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski's 1st (Polish) Independent Parachute Brigade, the 25-year-old Boleslaw Ostrowski — its last surviving veteran — had a ringside seat at the ill-fated attempt to capture the famous 'bridge too far'. The plan for Market Garden was straightforward. The Allied Airborne Corps comprising three divisions — two US, one British — and Sosabowski's brigade was to capture successive bridges to secure a route through occupied Holland for the 30th (British) Corps to race 65
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
For sale: medals of pilot who escaped Nazis by swimming across Rhine without a nose
The campaign medals of a Second World War glider pilot who escaped the Nazis by swimming across the Rhine despite his horrific wounds are going up for auction. Sgt George Cawthray landed behind German lines in the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. After the troops his glider was carrying dispersed for the front near Arnhem, he spent a week patrolling the area before suffering wounds to his face and head. When the evacuation order was given as the Allied operation soured, he made the treacherous 400-yard crossing to the Allied side of the Rhine, in the process doing a favour for a friend. Sgt Stanley Lewis had been injured in the fighting and could not swim, and as he knew he would be captured by the Germans, he asked Sgt Cawthray to relay a message to his family. After reaching Brussels four days later, Sgt Cawthray wrote to them, saying: 'I am very lucky to be alive myself, having had my nose and both lips shot away, as well as bullet wounds in the head. Please don't worry about Stanley – he's being well cared for.' It is believed that Sgt Lewis survived the war as a prisoner of war and returned home afterwards. Sgt Cawthray was born in 1913 in Selby, North Yorks, and played first-class cricket for Yorkshire before the war. He served in the Glider Pilot Regiment and on D-Day he landed behind enemy lines, dropping off men and vehicles. After recovering from his wounds in 1944, he served in India before resuming his cricket career with Yorkshire and later became groundsman. He was head groundsman at Headingley in Leeds for the 1975 Ashes Test which was infamous for being abandoned when the pitch was vandalised. Early on Aug 19, Sgt Cawthray discovered that holes had been dug in the pitch and oil was poured over one end of the wicket. It had been the work of campaigners calling for the release of jailed robber George Davis. Sgt Cawthray died in 2001 aged 87 Now his campaign medals are to be sold at London-based auctioneers Spink & Son. Marcus Budgen, head of the Spink & Son medals department, said: 'Sgt Cawthray was one of just a handful of glider pilots who flew into Nazi-occupied Europe on the two most famous events of the Second World War. 'Having shared in D-Day, he then went into action at Arnhem, being one of the lucky few to live to tell the tale. 'One cannot imagine what he was feeling when he swam the mighty Rhine, despite having been gravely wounded in the head and face. 'It was no doubt the drive to deliver the news of his wounded friend home to his wife that got him across that frightening crossing. His services without doubt led to the ultimate victory in Europe.' His medal group consists of the 1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45. They are being sold together with a large archive of original material including his pilot's flying log book detailing all his missions, together with his soldier's pay book, original documents, private letters and his original cloth 'Wings', mounted as worn with metal backing and pin for fixing to uniform, besides silver and enamel sweetheart brooch. The sale, expected to fetch between £2,800 and £3,200, takes place on April 24. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Medals of pilot who escaped Nazis by swimming across Rhine while badly wounded up for sale
The campaign medals of a Second World War glider pilot who escaped the Nazis by swimming across the Rhine despite his horrific wounds are going up for auction. Sgt George Cawthray landed behind German lines in the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. After the troops his glider was carrying dispersed for the front near Arnhem, he spent a week patrolling the area before suffering wounds to his face and head. When the evacuation order was given as the Allied operation soured, he made the treacherous 400-yard crossing to the Allied side of the Rhine, in the process doing a favour for a friend. Sgt Stanley Lewis had been injured in the fighting and could not swim, and as he knew he would be captured by the Germans, he asked Sgt Cawthray to relay a message to his family. After reaching Brussels four days later, Sgt Cawthray wrote to them, saying: 'I am very lucky to be alive myself, having had my nose and both lips shot away, as well as bullet wounds in the head. Please don't worry about Stanley – he's being well cared for.' It is believed that Sgt Lewis survived the war as a prisoner of war and returned home afterwards. Sgt Cawthray was born in 1913 in Selby, North Yorks, and played first-class cricket for Yorkshire before the war. He served in the Glider Pilot Regiment and on D-Day he landed behind enemy lines, dropping off men and vehicles. After recovering from his wounds in 1944, he served in India before resuming his cricket career with Yorkshire and later became groundsman. He was head groundsman at Headingley in Leeds for the 1975 Ashes Test which was infamous for being abandoned when the pitch was vandalised. Early on Aug 19, Sgt Cawthray discovered that holes had been dug in the pitch and oil was poured over one end of the wicket. It had been the work of campaigners calling for the release of jailed robber George Davis. Sgt Cawthray died in 2001 aged 87 Now his campaign medals are to be sold at London-based auctioneers Spink & Son. Marcus Budgen, head of the Spink & Son medals department, said: 'Sgt Cawthray was one of just a handful of glider pilots who flew into Nazi-occupied Europe on the two most famous events of the Second World War. 'Having shared in D-Day, he then went into action at Arnhem, being one of the lucky few to live to tell the tale. 'One cannot imagine what he was feeling when he swam the mighty Rhine, despite having been gravely wounded in the head and face. 'It was no doubt the drive to deliver the news of his wounded friend home to his wife that got him across that frightening crossing. His services without doubt led to the ultimate victory in Europe.' His medal group consists of the 1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45. They are being sold together with a large archive of original material including his pilot's flying log book detailing all his missions, together with his soldier's pay book, original documents, private letters and his original cloth 'Wings', mounted as worn with metal backing and pin for fixing to uniform, besides silver and enamel sweetheart brooch. The sale, expected to fetch between £2,800 and £3,200, takes place on April 24.
