Matt Bailey

🚨 BRITISH WAR HERO RIP Reg Curtis who jumped at Arnhem on 17 September 1944. Remembering Reg and all his comrades with love and respect. “It was daylight when we clambered into trucks and headed to the Aerodrome at Barkston Heath. Everyone was tense but ready to go, come what may. Huddled in the curtained trucks, covered from view for security reasons, men chatted and smoked, and minds wandered. Then someone started humming, more joined in, and some raunchy alternative words to the tune of the old Irish folk ditty ‘My Brother Sylvest’ filled the air: My brother Sylvest Can do any turn like the rest. ’E can run, jump, fight, f**k, Wheel a barrer, push a truck, Turn a double somersault An’ whistle with ’is a***’ole. That’s my brother Sylvest! “At the aerodrome everyone was waiting calmly but with an eagerness to get going. On airfields all over the south and east of England men were assembling to be taken by glider or plane and, as we were shortly to learn, set down or dropped in enemy-occupied Holland. Our objective was to capture and hold the bridge straddling the Rhine at Arnhem. My 1st Parachute Battalion was to seize the high ground to the north. “At last, amid the roar of engines warming up, I heard the order to prepare to emplane. I was number 13 in the 93rd aircraft in the third wave to take off and scheduled to drop in enemy territory at 15.00. I was not superstitious but having the number 13 did make me think! The C47 Dakota was now roaring down the runway. I thought that it would not make it, but somehow, after the point of no return, it lifted in time. We circled around for an hour, manoeuvring into a mass formation before setting course for Holland. It was a great sight, seeing all those planes, and gave a sense of security that one was not alone on this mission. Being a few thousand feet up, it was hard to recognize the scenery below, but as we approached the south coast I saw the familiar Thames Estuary as we flew over my home county of Kent. Then we were past Dover and heading for the Dutch coast. “Our escorting Typhoon, Spitfire and Mustang fighters were weaving between the Dakotas and gliders, and as we crossed the English Channel tension began to mount in my plane. We approached land on the other side and could see that the area had been flooded to try and stop or impede the advance of our land forces. I was admiring the landscape when the order rang out: ‘Action stations! Hook Up! Green light on! Go!’ Being number 13, I had a few long seconds to wait as I shuffled forward. Then I felt a slight pat on my parachute pack and again found myself tumbling out of the doorway into that familiar open void.” Reg Curtis, The Memory Endures Thank you for your service mate x