A Glider Pilot's Tale, Part 6
Ted and I entered the house and made our way to the dining room on the first floor. There stood the Mayor in Tails and wearing a top hat! Ted stuffed his beret down his smock, took the top hat from the Mayor and put it on his own head. The Mayor was deflated. Ted wore the top hat on our later march out of the LZ.
(My note: My Father told me that the glider pilots were notorious for eschewing tin helmets and wearing berets instead. Unfortunately for the RAF glider pilots, their blue berets {the Army glider pilots wore the maroon beret} made them look like German tank crews at a distance. Probably not a good idea!)
I was not popular with the Mayor either. Feeling hungry, I set up my ‘Tommy cooker’ on the Mayor’s large and beautiful dining table, and cooked my meal. The solid fuel made a large burn in the tabletop. Did I care? No way!
We were then told that we were to march out of the area, be picked up by truck, and transported back across the Rhine, all of which occurred. Marching through the woods we remained alert due to the presence of active German troops therein. Happily we had no trouble. You can imagine the bawdy (and worse!) remarks addressed at Ted, for sporting a top hat on our march, by the incoming reinforcements!
And so across the Rhine Bailey Bridge, first to Nijmegen and thence to Eindhoven and a flight home. Our CSM had found 2 motorcycles, one of which was booby trapped. Fortunately he picked up the safe one. This he put on the Dakota flying home. I still wonder if he still owns it.
On landing at home we were marched to Customs! Customs wanted to know where we had been and on whose authority, and had we anything to declare! There we were, some wounded; in Army parlance: ‘in **** order’. The glider pilots started to get extremely annoyed. We all had weapons and plenty of ammunition. One little spark and there could have been a dreadful incident. Fortunately common sense took over and we were cleared quickly. I and my American white parachute got safely on our way home.
(My note: many of the American ‘chutes were in a green DPM type camouflage.)
Do I have any regrets? Not as far as the Army and RAF glider pilots I flew and fought with. My only regret is that I did not fly fighters in combat. I was fortunate to fly Spitfires as well as Meteor and Vampire jet fighters whilst on the active reserve list to the RAF in later years – but again, that’s another story.
I was subsequently sent to RAF Shobdon to fly Hotspurs by both day and night as a preliminary to becoming a First Pilot for duty in the Far East. Fortunately that did not happen, losses on the Rhine and anticipated losses landing on Japan left little chance of survival.
(My notes: Operation VARSITY {The Rhine Crossing} was the single most successful Allied Airborne Operation of WWII. What isn’t generally realised {and what has shamefully been ignored by the Media} is that 2/3 of the glider pilots involved were RAF. These figures are reflected in the losses: Of the 102 pilots killed, 64 were RAF. Of those wounded, 60% were RAF.
With regards to the possible Airborne Assault on Japan, the Official {conservative} Estimate on casualties was 80% minimum on the first wave!
I can safely say that, had Truman not dropped the ‘bomb’, I would not be here today.
A sobering thought.)