4 For information about the Polish Brigade, the authors are indebted to George Cholewczynski and his encyclopaedic book, Poles Apart.

5 Tarrant Rush in Dorset and Keevil in Wiltshire.

6 Private memoir. Airborne Assault, Imperial War Museum, Duxford, and JN interview with his son, Philip Mollett, 2010.

7 Interview for Second World War Experience Centre, Leeds, and JN interview, July 2010.

8 Lloyd Clark, senior lecturer in war studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in Arnhem: Jumping the Rhine. Headline, 2009.

9 Afterwards, the British generals would blame unexpected resistance and difficult terrain for their tardiness, but there were others who felt the column was never advanced with sufficient urgency.

Chapter 12: Chaos and Compassion in No man’s Land

1 Revd Chignell, padre of the glider pilots. Private diary. Museum of Army Chaplaincy.

2 See Pegasus archive: http://www.pegasusarchive.org/arnhem/graeme_warrack.htm

3 Niall Cherry, Red Berets and Red Crosses, R. N. Sigmund, 1998.

4 Jo Johanson.

5 Personal memoir. Airborne Assault, Imperial War Museum, Duxford.

Chapter 13: Pulling Out

1 Revd R. T. Watkins, 1 Para chaplain. Private memoir. Museum of Army Chaplaincy.

2 See Hamilton, op. cit. A liaison officer who visited the front reported that Horrocks believed such a bridgehead ‘difficult with present resources’.

3 Revd Chignell.

4 Quoted in Clark, op. cit.

5 By the end of the evacuation, only two were still operational.

6 Martin Middlebrook in Arnhem 1944: The Airborne Battle. Penguin, 1995.

Chapter 14: Left Behind

1 Quoted in Cholewczynski, op. cit.

2 Charitably, he did not rail against this, simply wondering if the runner had been killed or had lost his way – which was entirely possible in the circumstances. It did cross his mind, however, that the rearguard had been ‘written off’. What is most puzzling about this incident is why the English officer refused to take a Polish runner along with him.

3 Cloud over Arnhem, by Kate ter Horst. Allan Wingate, 1959.

4 See Nichol and Rennell, op. cit.

5 Quoted in Heleen Kernkamp’s memoirs.

6 Kazic Szmid.

Chapter 15: Home is the Hero

1 Memo to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, quoted in Hamilton, op. cit.

2 Bob Quayle.

3 See Chapter 1, note 17.

4 War Illustrated magazine, October 1944.

5 Dutch writer Johan Fabricus. Broadcast on the BBC Home Service, 27 September 1944.

6 The Times, 28 September 1944.

7 Lodged at Airborne Assault, Imperial War Museum, Duxford.

8 Airborne Assault, Imperial War Museum, Duxford.

9 How many were in the party is disputed. Lathbury says thirty; Hibbert, sixty.

10 Quoted in Nichol and Rennell, op. cit.

Acknowledgements

There are many people who willingly gave us their time and expertise while we wrote this book. It is impossible to mention every individual, but we are truly grateful to them all. Our heartfelt thanks also go to:

Major Mike Peters of the Army Air Corps, who sourced countless accounts and pictures and proofread the manuscript.

Mr Jonathan Baker, Curator of Airborne Assault at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford. Jon also proofread the manuscript, and he and Becks Skinner provided unstinting assistance during our visits to the museum’s incredible archive.

Sarah Standeven at OfficeOffice, who transcribed our countless interviews with amazing skill and speed.

Our agent, Mark Lucas, and everyone at Penguin who edits, produces and markets our books.

Mike Collins, National Secretary of the Parachute Regimental Association; Alan Hartley, Chairman of the RAF Down Ampney Association; Lieutenant Colonel David Reynolds, editor of Pegasus magazine; Niall Cherry of the Society of Friends of the Airborne Museum; Mark Hickman, creator of www.pegasusarchive.org; Cathy Pugh of the Second World War Experience Centre; Martin Mace, editor of Britain at War magazine; Air Commodore Graham Pitchfork of the Aircrew Association; and Peter Elliot from the Royal Air Force Museum.

Countless authors and researchers with an unparalleled knowledge of Arnhem contacted us offering their assistance. Again, it is impossible to name them all, but the following went ‘above and beyond’ in their efforts to help us: Derek Armitage, David Blake, David Brook, Luuk Buist, Tom Buttress, Philip Chinnery, George F. Cholewczynski, Derek Duncan, Bob Gerritsen, Chris Gryzelka, John Howes, Dick Jansen, John Jolly, Gary Jucha, Steve McLoughlin, John O’Reilly, Mark Pitt, Paul Reed, Mark Roberts, James Semple, Roger Stanton, Graham Stow, Andrzej Szmid, Arie-Jan van Hees and Steve Wright.

Our wives, Suzannah and Sarah, for their unconditional love, support and advice.