Hell's Highway Visits en route to Arnhem

[Mark Hone]

I am beginning planning for my 2009 school tour, to Arnhem. I am hoping to do it slightly differently from my 2003 trip. This time I intend to go on the overnight Hull-Rotterdam ferry and drive part of Hell's Highway en route to Arnhem. Last time I did Hell's Highway from Arnhem and originally intended to drive down to Eindhoven and work my way back. This proved rather too ambitious in the event and we only got as far as the Grave Bridge. We then returned to Arnhem via the excellent Groesbeek Museum , Jonkerbos Cemetery (where an old boy of the school is buried) and the riverfront at Nijmegen. I must admit that I rued not being able to carry out an extensive pre-tour recce as I had forgotten what a nightmare the Nijmegen one-way system was!
If anyione has any tips for my 2009 tour I'd be very appreciative. There's so much to see on Hell's Highway even I can't cram it in to one day!

[Philip,ABRG]

it depends if you are interested in any particular unit, if not if you mention there is a lot to see.

[51highland]

Some video of the route I took trying to roughly follow Market Garden.

http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/nw-europe/12099-o-m-g.html

[Mark Hone]

Thanks for the replies. I don't have a specific unit at the moment. I do always base my tours around particular stories. Two of our old boys were glider pilots, one of them being killed, so that will form the main focus of our two days in the Arnhem/Oosterbeek area. I am hoping to take a group of boys to the Assault Glider Trust in Shropshire prior to our visit. The other old boys was Gunner Tom Hopkinson of 84 Medium Regiment RA buried at Jonkerbos. I don't know very much about their movement up to Nijmegen.

[Philip,ABRG]

Give me till after the weekend then I probably can tell you some more about 84 Medium, maybe also some info about Hopkinson, who was the GP?

[Mark Hone]

The GP who died was Sergeant Harry Parkinson, ex-Lancashire Fusiliers who was killed by a strafing German plane outside the Hartenstein. The GP who survived was Lt. Des Turner who also took part in Operation 'Varsity' and died in 2001. I don't know much about Hopkinson so any info would be much appreciated.

[Philip,ABRG]

84 Medium arrived in Malden evening of 20 September and in the evening moved towards Nijmegen (Heidepark) stayed in that area until 7 October, then they moved to Winssen and later that day to Slijk-Ewijk,
8 October to Ubbergen, to return to holland in Feb 1945, Eindhoven,Malden, they left Holland 11 Feb 1945.


Are you sure about Parkinson? as his fieldgrave location was near Sonnenberg House
(Sgt F.Squadron No.3451219)

Tom was killed (Ithink) when on the 28th their position was bombed by a ME262, and they suffered 4 fatal casualties

[Mark Hone]

Thank you for your research, Philip. Re. Parkinson I was going on the account of someone who has researched the GP Regiment. He reported that Parkinson was one of a group who were been killed by a German aircraft strafing the Hartenstein. Any further information would be welcome.
Is there anything to see at the 84 Regt position?

[Philip,ABRG]

A friend of mine Luuk Buist, who is the best researcher regarding the GPR is writing a book about the Regiment during the Battle.If someone should know it would be him.

Malden/Nijmegen is quite larger then it was in 1944 and it is all build up now.

Heidepark mostly now belong to the Nijmegen university hospital

[Mark Hone]

I was in touch with Luuk before our 2003 tour, but in the end we didn't actually meet up. It would be nice if one or both of you could meet us on our tour next year. It's a little way off yet-October 2009! Our trips are different from most school battlefield tours. Each one has a different itinerary, based on original research and usually featuring former pupils of ours school, local units and relatives of people on the tour.The boys are very keen and most come on more than one tour during their time at school.
Do you now how 84 Regt moved up to Malden and Nijmegen? I'm assuming that they came up the main Hell's Highway but I'd be interested in their exact calendar of movements.