LEST WE FORGET – THE HEROES OF ARNHEM
The granddaughter of a Hero Paratrooper involved in the Battle of Arnhem laid a wreath for hundreds of his fallen comrades at an annual commemoration.
Charlotte O’Reilly’s grandfather, John, was one of only 36 of 603 who made up the 156 Parachute Battalion to return from Arnhem.
Charlotte, 14, of Thoroton, and fellow Stamford High School cadet, Zara Hodges, from Peterborough, laid a wreath in memory of the men who did not come home. Charlotte also read out the following words by Viscount Field Marshall Montgomery, Colonel Commandant of the Parachute Regiment, in honour of the Red Berets:
What manner of men are those who wear the maroon beret? They are firstly all volunteers and are then toughened by hard, physical training. As a result, they have that infectious optimism and that offensive eagerness which comes from physical well-being. They have jumped from the air and, by so doing, have conquered fear. Their duty lies in the van of the battle; they are proud of this honour and have never failed in any task. They have the highest standards in all things, whether it be skill in battle or smartness in the execution of all peace-time duties. They have shown themselves to be as tenacious and determined in defence as they are courageous in attack. They are, in fact, men apart, every man an emperor. I have a great affection for these men who were my comrades in arms on many battlefields in the second world war and, on those occasions when I myself wear the maroon beret, I regard it as an outwards sign of respect to grand fighters and good comrades. Remember that of all the factors which make success in battle, the spirit of the warrior is the most decisive.
Out of the nine British battalions that fought in Arnhem, the 156 Parachute Battalion suffered the highest percentage of casualties, 75%. including the loss of its commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Sir Richard des Voeux.
Air bases including Spanhoe, Fullbeck and Saltby were departure points for Operation Market Garden – a bold attempt to secure nine bridges across the Netherlands and over the Rhine next to Germany, thereby shortening the Second World War.
Market Garden, which took place in September 1944, was the largest Airborne operation ever conceived involving 36,000 men, two American and one British division. Each bridge would be taken and secured in a lightning strike by paratroopers, it was thought, on an unprepared enemy, who would then await land forces pushing across 60 miles of country to roll over each in turn. Arnhem was the last bridge – the bridge over the Rhine itself – and became know as a bridge too far.
Sergeant John O’Reilly’s experiences in Arnhem were remarkable; his story begins in Melton Mowbray, where the 156 were billeted.
Prior to departure, a non-commissioned officer acting as orderly, had tapped on the NAAFI counter with his swagger stick and asked for the blackout blinds to be closed immediately. The woman who ran the NAAFI, Margaret, told him that the lads were out of manoeuvres and she wanted them to see that the NAAFI was still open on their return, in case they wanted a hot mean or a brew. There was an argument, followed by laughter, and the Orderly Sergeant O’Reilly departed for Arnhem.
His unit was under fire from the moment it approached the drop zone, suffering 10% casualties before it had made it out of the area. This was the second lift on the second day and the Germans were waiting for them.
After four days the small Airborne force at the Arnhem bridge was overwhelmed, having been trapped in a small pocket north of the river. The rest of the 1st Airborne Division fought on doggedly for eight days, massivel outnumbered, outgunned and surrounded.
156 and 10th Battalion, which made up the 4th Brigade, were charged with the task of getting through to the beleaguered paratroopers at the Arnhem bridge. After marching for six miles to the village of Oosterbeek, they were halted by elements of the 9th SS Panzer Division.
On the second day of the battle, the 156 – only lightly armed – had been fought to a standstill and prevented from going forward by the much better equipped SS troops. By mid-afternoon the 156 were ordered to withdraw to the village of Wolfheze. Sergeant O’Reilly’s platoon was left behind to cover the withdrawal. After holding the line for some time and suffering casualties, they themselves began fighting their way back to Wolfheze, eventually making it back to the rallying point just before dark. Unbeknown to them, however, the rest of the battalion had received orders to move out and the small platoon were on their own.
The next morning, they found themselves surrounded in Wolfheze, once more breaking out, this time into the woods where they found better cover. They spotted a German patrol approaching of a similar number to themselves, about 20 men. Going to ground, they waited until the last moment and then opened-up scything down the Germans. Few escaped, however, the noise of this action brought hundreds of Germans towards them. A firefight ensued, and the Germans eventually encircled them.
Casualties in the platoon mounted rapidly including the Platoon Commander and the Company Sergeant Major.
O’Reilly, together with a handful of survivors, made a bayonet charge through the encirclement at speed. The Germans, not wishing to shoot each other, allowed them through. Just eight of them found safety in the thick woods. A Signaller later joined them, making nine.
Almost out of ammunition and with Germans everywhere, the nine sheltered in a chicken shed. The next day, two of their number went searching for food, but were captured when they flagged down a jeep, not realizing it was manned by Germans.
Unable to move during the day, O’Reilly decided he would go out at night to forage for food near to where the Germans were billeted. He would crawl in the chicken coop, so close to the enemy that he could hear them talking through the open window above his head. Quickly grabbing the birds to prevent them flapping, he despatched them in the dark. On his return the chickens were boiled in a billy can in a ditch so that the fire could not be seen.
This method proved so successful that it carried on for three weeks after which time salvation arrived in the form of Father McGowan, a chaplain from the 1st Airborne Division, who was spotted collecting dog tags from the dead.
O’Reilly tapped on the window of the chicken shed to get his attention. The incredulous chaplain took some persuading that Sergeant O’Reilly was a paratrooper, given his dishevelled state due to the three weeks of living rough.
Once persuaded, he arranged for the men to be smuggled out of the area (which was very much now the German front line) on the back of a horse-drawn cart by the Dutch Resistance.
A week later it was decided by High Command in Britain to get as many of the surviving personal who had not been captured brought to safety across the Rhine. A route was reconnoitred by Captain Tom Wainwright of the 156 Battalion. The following night 140 men were assembled a mile from the Rhine. O’Reilly was ordered to the front of the column by Wainwright, whom he knew, armed with a Bren gun.
Upon reaching the river, the long column was stretched out over a water meadow at which point they ran into a German patrol. O’Reilly, realizing how precarious the situation was, charged directly at them, emptying his magazine as he went, scattering them. Consequently, not all their number made it.
Moving swiftly on, the column carried on along the bank to find the waiting boats that carried them across the river to safety.
This was Operation Pegasus and was one of the most successful escapes through enemy lines made during the Second World War.
Later, on his return home after the Battle of Arnhem, Sergeant O’Reilly proposed to Margaret. They lived for 30 years in Whatton and are buried in the churchyard there.
Old photographs of them were digitally remastered into colour specially for the Reunion by its organizer, their son and Charlotte’s father, also called John. The events took place at Saltby Aerodrome where the 156 took off for Arnhem from, and at Melton Mowbray church.
Three veterans from the 156 attended – Lieutenant Michael Wenner (98), Dennis Collier (96) and John Jeffries (96). In the spirit of reconciliation, ex-German paratrooper (Fallschirmjeger) Kaime Michael Horst laid a wreath and played the clarinet.
The modern-day Parachute Regiment sent Major Sean (Pinky) Phillips from 4 Para and regimental mascot Pegasus, the Shetland pony, who spent the night in the orchard at Charlotte’s home in Thoroton.
Charlotte O’Reilly.