Eight very elderly British Arnhem-veterans who fought in this region in September 1944 contributed to a film “For all our Dutch friends”.
Wilf Oldham, Ron Johnson, Frank Ashleigh, John Bosley, Geoff Roberts, Alec Hall, Raymond Whitwell and Peter Coltrup deeply regret that they cannot come to the Airborne commemorations in the Netherlands for the second time due to the corona crisis.
The film can be seen on the site of the Airborne Memorials foundation (click)
The British veterans have been brought and driven around for years by the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, a British charity that transports veterans in original British taxis. Two members of that organisation made the film after they heard how hard it was for the very old chaps that they cannot commemorate their fallen comrades again in the Arnhem region. The film was shot at the home of the veterans.
The Battle of Arnhem was part of the Allied liberation operation Market Garden. The Allies wanted to recapture the bridge over the Rhine from the German occupiers, but failed. As a result, the Second World War lasted for the Netherlands above the major rivers until May 1945. Arnhem was left devastated.
The many commemorations and meetings around September 17 are again largely private and only accessible by invitation. There are 15,000 tickets for sale for the airborne landings on the Ginkel Heath near Ede. The heath can only be reached on foot or by bicycle. The Airborne March, the largest one-day walking tour in the world, has an alternative version. Many program components can be seen directly on local television TV Gelderland, RTV Arnhem and via a live stream on the website of the organisation.
