Memorial service for 78th anniversary of Battle of Arnhem

Crowds gathered in Colchester for the 78th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem, or Operation Market Garden.

Major Danny Leitch, 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team (Image: Richard Watt)

Dutch military attaché Lieutenant Colonel Richard Piso (Image: Richard Watt)

Polish consul general Mateusz Stąsiek and military attaché Col Robert Pawlicki (Image: Richard Watt)

On September 17, 1944, The 1st Airborne Division landed by parachute and glider at Arnhem to capture the final bridge across the Rhine.

The Allies’ aim was to break into Germany by a combined airborne and armoured advance, striking a decisive blow that would bring the war in Europe to an end by Christmas 1944.

Expecting to be relieved within 48 hours, the soldiers held out through nine days of prolonged and brutal street fighting before withdrawing across the river on September 25.

More than 1,500 British soldiers were killed and nearly 6,500 captured.

Five Victoria Crosses were awarded, including posthumously to Flight Lieutenant David Lord VC DFC, for his determination to drop supplies to troops on the ground from a burning aircraft, ordering his crew to bail out seconds before the aircraft crashed.

The soldiers of 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, which is based at Colchester’s Merville Barracks, serve under the same Pegasus emblem as the 1st Airborne Division, with the badge serving as a reminder of the bravery and commitment of their forebears.

Polish military attaché Col Robert Pawlicki, Dutch military attaché Lieutenant Colonel Richard Piso and Major Kevin Fitchett from the Colchester Garrison (Image: Richard Watt)

The service also celebrates Colchester’s relationship with the Dutch district of Renkum, where the British Airborne Forces first landed and reinforced by the Polish Airborne Forces, made their final stand during the battle.

Dignitaries at the service included Deputy Lieutenant of Essex Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Toler, Colchester mayor Tim Young, Polish consul general Mateusz Stąsiek, military attaché Col Robert Pawlicki and Dutch military attaché Lieutenant Colonel Richard Piso.

Pupils from Colcjester Institute, Gilberd, St John’s Green, St Michael’s, Homwewood House, Montgomery Primary and Iceni Academy attended (Image: Richard Watt)

Pupils from primary schools laid sunflowers at the war memorial, replicating what Dutch children do at the main commemoration service at Oosterbeek cemetery in the Netherlands.

Schoolchildren laying down flowers at the Battle of Arnhem memorial service (Image: Richard Watt)

Students from the Gilberd pay their respects (Image: Richard Watt)

During the service Wing Commander Mark Hinde, 16 Air Assault BCT’s senior air officer, spoke of the gallantry of Flight Lieutenant David Lord VC DFC.

Wing Commander Mark Hinde (Image: Richard Watt)

He said: “It is important that we remember soldiers and airmen who fought at Arnhem, and set standards of bravery, endurance and selflessness that we aspire to achieve.

“It may have happened 78 years ago, but the parallels with today are strong – then as now, airborne operations demand seamless working between the Army and RAF and we stand ready for operations alongside our Polish, Dutch and American allies.”