One of three bridges over the Rhine, suffered major damage during the battle for Arnhem
..."It was just about the slowest train I’ve ever been on! Whenever we wanted to brew up one of us would jump off and run ahead to the engine and open the steam valve on the side. Each time I did this, I would then just wait until our carriage came along, then jump back on. There was also a time when we went passed an orchard. We all jumped off, filled our pockets and then just jumped back on again.
We crossed the Rhine on my 21st birthday. In one of those amazing coincidences, we were waiting to cross on one of the ‘buffaloes’ when the mail came in. It was 3 o’clock in the morning, and there in the mail was a birthday cake from my Mother! So we quickly shared this treat as we were boarding to cross the river.
We soon became caught up in the mess at Arnhem. This was the most enormous traffic jam with every type of
military vehicle strung out all along this narrow road. The troops ahead had run into SS Divisions and the whole situation was one of confusion. To get out of the way we pulled over into a wooded area. This is where I came across one of those strange things which has haunted me since. I caught sight of a Horsa Glider on the ground but with smashed wings. It was concealed in part and clearly nobody had taken any notice of it there. Just curious, I opened the side door and looked inside. There were two rows of our men in full battle dress, each sitting with his rifle resting upright between the knees. There were all sitting there, stone dead. It was a ghastly scene – quietly shocking. In looking more closely it was clear to see a neat horizontal row of bullet holes all along the side of the fuselage."
After Arnhem, Ralph and his team managed to get clear of the road blockages by driving onto a railway line.
"Very uncomfortable in a Bren Carrier!"
The retreating Germans broke the dykes to flood the Low Countries in a desperate effort to slow down the Allied advance. Eventually Ralph and his team continued right through to Lübeck on the Baltic Coast. That’s where they were on the surrender and celebrated VE Day in Lübeck. They stayed on in Germany and became part of the Army of Occupation. Ralph was promoted to the rank of Corporal in 1945 and later returned to Britain for demobilisation in 1947...
