Arnhem/1st British Airborne Division/Op.Market Garden book collection

What sets the story apart from how you put it 'the countless other personal (arnhem para-) trooper published stories', Well, he was a Glider Pilot not a (Arnhem Para-) trooper,,so lets get the description correct as to not confuse any readers that maybe new to all of this.

Every individuals personal account is different, the story/memoir itself may not bring anything new to the battle itself to whip the expert into a frenzy. However, what it does do, is allow you to get to know about the man who went to war, the man who endured the war and the man, who thankfully lived to tell the tale,. If you want excitement and fireworks you read a fictional novel where the plot far out ways the characters within it. A memoir for me of any kind, is like a fine Red Wine, more depth about a singular person and easy on the palette.

So, in my opinion every personal account is very different. Lets face it, the Battle of Arnhem was only nine days out of a mans life not much when you come to think of it .

In short it all comes down to two choices, if you want to know more about the men that fought in the battle and an insight to his personal war or the battle in depth itself, fact, figures ete etc.

Personally I have gotten to the point, where I want to know more about the men who took up arms to fight for their King and country and this type of book fills that void for me.

​Like I said, I found it a very good read, it flows and has been written in a style that I believe will appeal to anyone, not just the Arnhem fanatic

 

Thanks Dave and hello Arnhem44

What Dave is written is exactly what I was trying to put across in the book, so I must have achieved that. You will not find any major revelations or sensationalist claims about the battle as a whole. The book was written for a few reasons. Firstly, as you have pointed out, to honour my Grandfather. In this version, other stories have been brought in from other 16 Flight and F Sqn pilots who were close friends of Johnny's. The book is very much about these men.

Secondly, it has some basic information about the Battle and the build up to operations. It has been written in such a way as to allow someone who knows nothing about the Glider Pilot Regiment and Operation Market Garden to be able to follow the story and understand what it was all about. Personally, I do not believe history should be exclusive, but rather accessible. It has also been written in an accessible style and is an "easy read". If I can get one other person interested in OMG and/or the GPR, so that they will be encouraged to read more, then I will have achieved my goal with this book.

What separates if from other, personal stories, such as Nine days, Arnhem Lift, Silent Invader, Escape from Arnhem, etc is simply that he had a different journey.

The blurb is as follows:

In September 1944, around 1,300 men piloted military gliders from England to the Netherlands as part of Operation Market Garden. Among them was Sgt Johnny Wetherall, a 19 year old Glider Pilot from Oxford. During the battle which ensued Johnny was wounded and captured, taking him on a journey across war torn Europe.

This true story follows his time training as a Glider Pilot, fighting in the Battle of Arnhem, lingering in prisoner of war camps and his eventual, unconventional journey home to England. It has been pieced together using letters and accounts from Johnny and fellow pilots from his Squadron, and is combined with an overview of wider events of the time to tell the real story of what these men went through.

 

For most it wasn't only 9 days out of their lives, it was many months of being a POW and/or years of living with wounds. At the very least, for some it was a life changing event.

 

Yes, indeed. For many men, the battle itself was much less than 9 days, with large parts of both 1st and 4th Parachute Brigades in the bag by the 19th or 20th. Many men were captured within 24 hours or so of landing. Yet even those fortunate enough to escape being wounded in the battle were not exempt from starvation or illness in captivity in the winter of 44/45, or the sufferings of those enduring the Long March in March 1945. Many carried the scars, mental as well as physical for the rest of their lives.

 

John, the point I was trying to make, is that a memoir is about a persons entire life and each mans story is different and was in answer to part of Arnhem44 question

'what sets this story apart from the countless other personal (arnhem para-) trooper published stories ?


No mans personal story is the same, he had a life before Arnhem and thankfully after.

 

I have one copy of Harold Padfield's book 12 Mules and a Pegasus for sale...signed by him..He was in the 1st Parachute Squadron RE in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Arnhem...It is his auto biography and a good read...£12...Sadly Harold is not well and now in a care home......Some years ago he helped greatly with the booklet With Nothing Bigger than a Bren Gun about the defence of the schoolhouse at the Arnhem road bridge which I also have a few copies of for sale...Mules is £12, BG £8......Postage extra

 

Arnhem on the Horizon is available now for anyone who might be interested!

131 Pages
21 B&W and Colour Photographs
10 Maps

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/181605582316?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Thanks
Dave

 

Good luck with it Dave !

 

Thanks Andrew! A helpful chap who retrieved National Archives files for me gets a mention in the intro as do the members WW2Talk

 

Has anyone heard when the up coming 10th Parachute Battalion book is going to be released?

 

Point taken and agreed with Dave.

 

Now on Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arnhem-Horizon-Glider-Johnny-Wetherall/dp/1910097543/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418380959&sr=8-1&keywords=arnhem+on+the+horizon

 

Have just ordered Arnhem on the Horizon via Amazon and see my vendors are Baverstock and Pasley. Sounds like a firm of dodgy solicitors!

 

LOL! Yes we will represent you if you get a paper cut while reading an Airborne book or have a fall while on the forum!

No, Dave B liked the book so much he has kindly partnered up to help me get it out there to a wider audience.

Edit: Oh and thanks for buying a copy!!!

 

How very very dare you Mr Francis.lol

 

When Reg Curtis enlisted with the Grenadier Guards in 1937, little did he know that two years later Britain would be plunged into the Second World War.
Reg found himself fighting for King and Country in France and Belgium as part of the British Expeditionary Force and along with 300,000 other men was evacuated from Dunkirk in May 1940.
Winston Churchill called for a new type of fighting soldier and Reg volunteered for commando and parachute training, one of the first 500 men who formed No. 2 Commando, later renamed the 11th SAS Battalion. The training was intense and the techniques new and as yet untried.
By the time they saw action the Battalion had again been renamed, and this time the name would stick: The 1st Parachute Battalion.
In North Africa the Battalion’s ranks were tragically decimated, and it was here as part of the 1st Parachute Brigade that they earned the enduring nickname ‘Red Devils’, bestowed upon them by the enemy.
They dropped into Sicily, where many more of the original volunteers were lost in fierce fighting. But the vital role of the Para had been recognised and they were now part of a fully-fledged regiment.
The Parachute Regiment’s defining battle was at Arnhem. There, in September 1944, Reg was shot and lay on his back as the battle raged around him for six days and nights. He was taken prisoner and his right leg amputated.
You will never hear these men speak of heroism, except when referring to the medics who tended them or the many brave civilians they met. But to the rest of us they are heroes of the highest rank, and Reg Curtis is one among them.


To order The Memory Endures for the cover price of £20 plus p&p please email: geoffrey.holland@pilotspublishing.co.uk to arrange payment and delivery.
We shall endeavour to respond promptly to enquiries and fulfil orders within a week.
To order in quantity for shop or museum a discount is available.
The Parachute Regiment Charity will receive the profits from the sale of this book.
To know more, please visit our Facebook page here

 

All is forgiven chaps. Exactly as described, Arnhem on the Horizon is a very readable account of events as they happened to Johnny, during and after the battle. It's littered with some nice little insights of a guy who was obviously quite a character.
It should be enjoyed by readers of this forum

 

That is very kind of you to say Graham. Delighted to hear you enjoyed it.

 

Have finished reading yesterday. Very nice and understandable for non English speaking!
Thanks!

 

Have finished reading yesterday. Very nice and understandable for non English speaking!
Thanks!

Thanks Roland