The Parachute Regimental Association Aldershot Branch Newsletter

10/2011 Charity Number 1125551 Oct 2011

Monthly Meeting The next Monthly Meeting will take place on Friday 7th October at 2000hrs in Malta Barracks. Please ensure that all PRA members park their vehicles on the edges of the parade square and leave their Aldershot Branch membership cards on the dashboard with their name visible. The meeting after this will be held on Friday 4th November.

Bar Opening The bar will be open at the following times during October, Friday 7th Times Oct 2000hrs – 2359hrs, Friday 14th Oct 2000hrs – 2359hrs, Friday 21st Oct 2000hrs – 2359hrs, Friday 28th Oct 2000hrs – 2359hrs. A free Pool Table, Bar nibbles, Television for all sporting events and a good atmosphere await you. Please note that fresh ground coffee is available for those who have to drive or would like an alternative drink.

Dennis Tosland It is with sadness that we have to inform you of the death of Branch member Dennis Tosland at the age of 94. Dennis joined the 1st Battalion the Cameron Highlanders and then served in the 7th Battalion the Cameron Highlanders. He then joined the 5th Battalion (Scottish) The Parachute Regiment. Dennis passed away after a short illness and his funeral was held at Easthampstead Crematorium on Monday 19th September at 1330hrs. Branch member Neil Trumper attended the funeral and spoke to Dennis’ daughter. She thanked Neil for the flowers from the Branch. Our thoughts and prayers go to Dennis’ family.

Bernie Fisher It is with sadness that we have to inform you of the death of Branch member Bernie Fisher. Bernie has fought cancer for the past few years and lost his battle on Saturday 24 September in the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice. Bernie was a C/Sgt with Support Company, 10 Para from 1971-86. His funeral details will be sent out along with this newsletter. Once again our thoughts and prayers go to his wife Pam and all his family.

Airborne March This year was our 28th year of participation and also the 65th Airborne March. The numbers were up on the previous years and over three hundred arrived at Harskamp in Holland. The Army Cadets and Air Training Corps Cadets who booked in with us came from the Birmingham area, Gloucester, Wiltshire, Yorkshire and Hampshire. Normally the Branch only takes one coach but with the extra demand we filled two this year. We had a little problem on the way out with one of the coaches. Within 30 miles after getting off of the ferry one coach was seen to have steam pouring out of the back of the bus. After filling up the coach with water a couple of times it was decided that we had a serious problem. As we had another three coaches with us we managed to offload all of the people onto these coaches. This is the first time we have had a problem with the transport and in typical airborne style it was sorted. The rest of the weekend went superbly. Bob Hilton decided that this year he would change the route of the Airborne Tour. The new route was well received especially by those who had attended the tour before. It never ceases to amaze us how Bob manages to remember names, dates, times and places of events in the battle without looking at a book. On the day of the march Bob offers those attending a chance to do something different. For the past few years he has picked a route that one of the units took from the drop zone to get to the bridge and this year he chose the 1 Para route. Before the Cadets boarded the coach Branch member and organiser of the trip Tony Trown read out five letters to the Cadets that he had

received. The first letter was from Dame Mary Fagan DCVO who is the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. The second was from Major General Jonathon Shaw CBE the Colonel Commandant of the Parachute Regiment. The third letter was from HRH the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The fourth letter was from HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. The final letter was from Her Majesty the Queen. All letters wished the Army Cadets and Air Training Corps Cadets warm good wishes for the March. The letters also mentioned the Aldershot Branch of the Parachute Regimental Association in keeping the memory of the heroic Airborne Forces alive by attending this wonderful and unique march. All of the Cadets grew a few inches after the letters were read out. Bob and his group were dropped off on our way to . A report from Iain Rodgers about the 1 Para route is on page 3. We arrived and parked the coaches opposite the Hartenstein Museum and made our way to the Sportspark at the rear. At 1130hrs the report in Dutch and English was read out followed by the Last Post, two minutes silence and Reveille. After this the gates were opened and the military and Cadets marched out. All of the British Cadets were applauded by the Dutch and they looked very proud and so they should be. After the appalling weather that we have endured this year we were blessed with warm sunshine. The only problem was that in the shade the temperature was 30°C and in the sun it was 40°C. The ambulances were very busy, but I am pleased to report that all of the Cadets finished without any problems and were awarded their medals. If any member would like copies of the letters that we received please contact the secretary. See page 3 for photos.

Arnhem This year was the 67th Commemoration of the . Commemoration Branch member Iain Rodgers was joined by Colin (Taff) Edwards and Weekend along with the Pathfinder Group members jumped into . Iain has submitted a report that you can read on pages 4-6.

St Lawrence The Service of Remembrance at St Lawrence Jewry will be held on Friday Jewry 11th November Near the Guildhall, London, EC2V 5AA at 1130 hrs. The Service is by the invitation of The Reverend Canon David Parrott and will be led by The Reverend J Sutton, 4 PARA. The Reverend A Feltham- White, Padre 2 PARA, has been invited to preach the lesson. The service is open to all and those wishing to attend should be seated by 1115hrs. The Service will be followed by a light buffet lunch in the CH Rolfe Hall which is situated in Wood Street Police Station, 37 Wood Street, London, EC2P 2NQ to which there is an open invitation to all who have attended the Service. However, due to fire regulations, the numbers attending cannot exceed 200 and therefore this reception will be ticketed. Will all members wishing to attend the buffet please inform the secretary so that he can apply for tickets. The cut off date for tickets is Friday 21st October. Please remember that there is a limit of 200 tickets so book early to avoid disappointment.

Remembrance Remembrance Sunday this year will take place on Sunday 13th November Sunday at the Royal Garrison Church. Further details will be in the next newsletter.

P Company The annual P Company 10 miler is on Saturday 26th November. Further 10 Miler information will be in the next newsletter.

Christmas The Christmas Ball will once again be held in Potters International Hotel on Ball Saturday 10th December. Full details will be in the November newsletter. Please help the organising committee by booking early.

Bar Prices On a sad note unfortunately the prices of drinks in the bar will have to be increased by 10% after the October meeting. The last increase was in April 2009 and since then we have had increased prices from the brewery and the increase of VAT by the government. We feel that the prices are still very competitive.

Stuart

AIRBORNE MARCH

BOB EXPLAINS THE HEROIC THE ALDERSHOT BRANCH PRA THE CADETS ON THE MARCH EFFORTS OF THE 6 MEMBERS START THE MARCH OF THE RECCE PLATOON

1 PARA ROUTE

Back Row L-R Taff Norris, Roly Rogers and Steve Norris. Front Row L-R Iain Rodgers, Darren Norris, Dean Rodrick, Dave Heal, Nog Gorman, Bob Darby, Steve Culver, Chris Rogers, Charles Wilson-Watkins and Bob Hilton.

12 of the Aldershot PRA members and their guests followed the route of 1 Para from the DZ to the furthest point on their endeavour to reach the bridge to support 2 Para. The march was led by Bob Hilton who explained the intricate/confusing actions taking place during the battle in September 1944.

The march was a fairly leisurely affair with frequent water stops as it was a very warm day. The endex was at the point where 1 Para held their final perimeter line before finally withdrawing across the river; at this position we held a short service to the fallen of 1 Para during the actions for the bridge.

Bob Hilton, Iain Rodgers, Chris Rogers, Rowland Rodgers and Mark Gorman read out the list of the fallen, by company, rank and name. Mark also read out the Ode of Remembrance for the fallen, he also supplied a hip flask and brandy for the toast “Airborne”.

Following the short ceremony, we all retired to the bar and met up with the rest of the PRA members for beer and more war stories?

COMMEMORATIVE PARACHUTE JUMP ONTO RENKUM HEATH. 2 PARAS DZ OF SEPTEMBER 1944

OPERATION MARKET GARDEN 2011 – A TOMS REPORT by Ian Rodgers (1 Para retired)

IAIN RODGERS DRAWING AND FITTING MAIN AND RESERVE PARACHUTES

Members of Pathfinder Parachute Group Europe conducted a series of parachute drops on to Renkum Heath Drop Zone between Friday the 16th and Sunday 18th September 2011 to commemorate 2 Para and their achievement in being the only airborne troops to reach John Frost Bridge in 1944. (The Pathfinder Parachute Group Europe are the only people ever to have jumped on this DZ using round canopy parachutes since 1944) Pathfinder Parachute Group Europe are known as the airborne forces best kept secret? Although they have jumped in full view of the general public for almost 20 years no one really knows who they are or where they come from.

The drops were made using the American MC1-1C parachutes and the delivery aircraft was the giant Antonov 2 'Colt'. The exits were made through the port side parachutist’s door. The jump conditions varied massively during the operational period with winds gusting to very high knots causing long delays and at least one Pathfinder Drop zone cancellation at the last minute? (Ouch)

GINKLE HEATH DZ WOLFHEZE OoSTERBEEK ARNHEM

RENKUM DZ ARNHEM RAILWAY BRIDGE ARNHEM BRIDGE

MAP OF DROP ZONES RENKUM HEATH AND GINKLE HEATH ARE WEST OF ARNHEM

THE DROP ON SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER

VIEW OF 4 PARA, FRENCH AND GERMAN THE SAME VIEW FROM RENKUM HEATH DZ PARATROOPERS FROM GINKELSE HEIDE DZ SOME LANDING IN TREES, CAR PARKS AND ROADS

HAND FLARE TO ASSIST THE JUMP MASTER ON RUN IN ON SUNDAY 18 SEPTEMBER

Our group of jumpers came from a mixed bag, with former 1, 2, and 3 Para, Belgium Para Commandos, a small contingent from the Irish Army, with other jumpers from Australia and the USA. Despite the gusting winds all of the jumpers landed safely, only one missed the DZ and landed in an adjacent corn field, two jumpers had minor shoulder bruising, but that was a small price to pay. Interestingly the parachute drop by 4 Para, the French and German Airborne forces on the Ginkelse Heide DZ which is less than a 1000 meters away on the previous day with similar conditions had a high number of casualties, one of the 4 Para contingent which we met on the ferry on the way home – he had tib and fib breaks, hope he makes a full recovery.

STICK OF 6 EXITING FROM THE ANTONOV 2

My exit from the aircraft was pretty mediocre and I nearly ended up counting the rivets along the fuselage, however, after doing the all round observation and locating the target and judging the wind drift, I decided that if I was not to land on an electrified fence (to keep the cattle in) I would have to run with the wind to clear the fence then turn back into the wind, this I successfully managed, only to pick up a gust of wind, so arriving at very high speed to meet the ground, I executed a high speed back right PLF up on to my feet in one movement, faced the chute to run around, only to see the chute fully deployed and racing down the DZ 'with me on the end of it' . I am now flying parallel with the ground, this is funny I thought I have never parachuted in the horizontal position before, so with no option left I executed a “capewell” to both sides of the harness, allowing the main chute to disappear down the DZ, 'Oh sugar' or words to that effect, I'll have to and fetch it now?.

After collecting up our chutes and making our way to the rendezvous point the jumpers that had previously 'volunteered', yes volunteered to do the 2 Para route march from Renkum Heath DZ to John Frost Bridge formed up and set off along with veterans that also decided to join the group and low and behold it rained, fortunately it was a short burst, but just enough to remind us all of the good old times when everything we did was wet, or cold and wet?

The march to the bridge was largely a Bimble” taking about 3 hours, most of the marchers wore the uniforms of the day (1944)

Two weeks ago Bob Hilton did the 1 Para route march from their DZ to the furthest point they achieved in attempting to reach 2 Para and the bridge. The ceremony two weeks ago was at the final position held by 1 Para just before they did the tactical withdrawal across the river. What followed at the bridge head was based on that event”

Bridgehead Ceremony

Following the march the group formed a hollow square adjacent to the bridge with the field gun forming the fourth side, the Pegasus flag was draped below the gun barrel.

A bridge head ceremony was held for the fallen of 2 Para. The company, rank and name of the fallen were read out and with berets removed the “Ode to the fallen” was read, with berets replaced a salute to the flag and the fallen was made. Finally, and this is the best bit, French brandy was issued and we all drank to the fallen and the Airborne. – Endex.

Oh apart for the party afterwards

By Iain Rodgers 1 Para Retired (very tired?)