11th Battalion Parachute regiment

Came across this article dont believe I have seen it before. William Langley WHEN the 11th Parachute Battalion jumped over Arnhem on September 18 1944 it had 750 men.
But only 187 returned to the barracks in Melton Mowbray after the ill-fated campaign.
"We lost seven officers on that first day," said William Langley. Bill, from Dover, was second out of the aircraft because he was carrying a mortar, which together with the bombs and several Bren Gun magazines increased his pack-load by 75lbs.
"As we marched towards Arnhem eight miles away, there were woods either side of the road hiding German snipers and machine guns. It was very scary. We lost a lot of men."
The Battalion got within sight of the Arnhem bridge where the battle was still raging, clearing houses of Germans as they went. But instead of going on they were ordered to pull back.
"We reached Elizabeth's Hospital and stopped at this house on a corner," said William. "It was reported there were German tanks about half a mile down the road, and snipers were firing from the Hospital windows.
"All of a sudden there was a commotion and three officers came running up the road. One of them was Major General Urquhart making his escape from a house where he had been hiding just down the road. We had no idea they were there. They drove off in a Jeep.
"About three quarters of an hour later this tank came up the road. He swung his gun and knocked some of the brickwork out of the house where we were. Everyone was throwing everything at it. Eventually it was knocked out by a PIAT anti-tank missile."
Many years later William found a print in a memorabilia shop in Oosterbeck which depicted the scene in graphic detail. It was painted by a Dutch artist who witnessed the event as an eight-year old boy.
"We had to make our way back to Oosterbeck which is four miles from Arnhem," said William. "I was 600 yards from the Church and not far from the first aid post set up in the home of Kate ter Horst, famously known as the ‘Angel of Arnhem'. The house was knocked to pieces and there were dead soldiers piled up in the garden."
In company with Sgt Wally Graves, from Wingham, near Canterbury, William set off across country and hid in a thatched cottage. But it was mortared and caught fire. Wally had been knocked unconscious by the blast so William had to pull him out.
They managed to relocate remnants of their Battalion and dug-in.
On the day they were ordered to pull out it rained continuously. They were taken across the Rhine by Canadian Royal Engineers in small boats.
Eventually they managed to scramble up the bank on the opposite side from where they were able to march to the relative safety of Eindhoven. War & Peace Show - The Largest Military Vehicle Spectacular in the World - 2012 Show

 

I have had the pleasure of meeting up with Bill and his wife Ethel a few years ago.

Dre

 

Just a quick line to inform you all that the manuscript for the above book has been delayed due to new material concerning the 11th Parachute Battalion during their Arnhem battle.
I hope to give you all more news in a few months time ;p

Regards,
Dre

 

Hi all, I am new to this site and have had some really useful hints so far, one of which was to post a new thread here on the Airborne forum! I am reseraching my dad's army career and am starting with his role with the Parachute Regiment where he was allocated to 11 PARA and there is a mention of HQ company? He was part of the second wave at Market Garden and this is all the knowledge I have at this point apart from references he made about St Elizabeths and an incident where having declared that the enemy had thrown everything at them but the kitchen sink, said kitchen sink was blown into their place of shelter! I have no images of him with his battalion and know little of the battle. I am looking to fill in some gaps and learn more about the battle. Any help from all you experts out there would be most gratefully received.

 

Hi all, I am new to this site and have had some really useful hints so far, one of which was to post a new thread here on the Airborne forum! I am reseraching my dad's army career and am starting with his role with the Parachute Regiment where he was allocated to 11 PARA and there is a mention of HQ company? He was part of the second wave at Market Garden and this is all the knowledge I have at this point apart from references he made about St Elizabeths and an incident where having declared that the enemy had thrown everything at them but the kitchen sink, said kitchen sink was blown into their place of shelter! I have no images of him with his battalion and know little of the battle. I am looking to fill in some gaps and learn more about the battle. Any help from all you experts out there would be most gratefully received.

I have access to a 'nominal roll' of the 11th Btn so can you post up details of your dad's full name and number if known.....For your info at the end of April there is a book coming out on the 11th Btn called 'Arnhem Their Final Battle' and also to co-incide with this a tour around Arnhem/Oosterbeek looking at the actions of the 11th Btn with the author....I'm sure this book will answer some of your questions.....

 

If not an other book about the 11th Parachute Bn will also published this year, which no doubt has loads on new information

 

Arnhem Their Final Battle is apparently going to the printers on Friday so it will be coming out.......

 

Thanks airborne medic. My father was Pte Robert Davenport army no. 3449798. According to his army book (certified copy) he passed Initial training course 64 in June of 43. A little strange as he is posted to H.Q. 4th Airborne Division on 31/5/43 and receives Para pay from that date. The first date I see his unit as being 11 Para is 6/1/44 when he disembarked in the UK. Your help is much appreciated. I also look forward to the publication of the book in April.

 

Hi Shell, I have the WD on disc for 11 para and the period you mention involving you Dad is covered, I will have a look for mention of him and let you know if I find anything all the best and welcome......Jason.

 

Arnhem Their Final Battle is apparently going to the printers on Friday so it will be coming out.......
Me thinks I need to PM you......no prizes for guessing what for

 

Sure it is not 4th Para Brigade?

 

He is on the nominal roll for the 11th Btn and down as being a PoW after Arnhem.......

 

Thanks Jason - sorry to seem dim WD? War Diaries??

 

He is on the nominal roll for the 11th Btn and down as being a PoW after Arnhem.......
Were the 11th not part of 4th Brigade? as you can see I really am a novice. Intriguing! His army records show that on 21/9/44 (here's the jargon) he was SOS (struck of strength?) XII to XIV list, on 27/9/44 he was TOS (taken on strength?) and posted to DSAF (Depot and School Airborne Forces?)from 30 RHU (Reinforcement Holding Unit?). Even more intriguing - dad told me that to escape he swam the river with an injured arm. He could see the boats were going down and so decided to swim (he had trained to attempt swim the channel before war broke out so was a strong swimmer). I wonder why he was considered a PoW?

 

Thanks Jason - sorry to seem dim WD? War Diaries??
WD is indeed War Diaries and having looked at the months of January and September 1944, I can see no mention of the name Davenport, however my intrest in the WD for 11 para is an ongoing one, due to my own family links via my own Fathers service with the Battalion at some stage, so if I do come across your Dad's name elsewhere in the diary you will be the first to know.

 

Thanks - you are a star!

 

Thanks airborne medic. My father was Pte Robert Davenport army no. 3449798. According to his army book (certified copy) he passed Initial training course 64 in June of 43. A little strange as he is posted to H.Q. 4th Airborne Division on 31/5/43 and receives Para pay from that date. The first date I see his unit as being 11 Para is 6/1/44 when he disembarked in the UK. Your help is much appreciated. I also look forward to the publication of the book in April.

Hi Shell,

It's curious you should mention the 4th Airborne Division which was created as a deception formation in March of 1943. What's even more curious is the real 4th Brigade was assigned to it for a short time until being taken on by the 1st Airborne in June of 1943.

See this Wikipedia page:

British deception formations in World War II

Also check out this page at ParaData to see if it applies:

HQ 4th Parachute Brigade

As an aside my Mother also maintains she attempted a crossing of the the English Channel by swimming but was was defeated by jellyfish stings. I have yet to find any documentation recording the event.

Regards ... Chuck

 

......a PoW after Arnhem.......

No trace in the POW book

 

No trace in the POW book

Agreed he is not in the PoW book...but we know this book is not 100% accurate and the comment was down in the nominal as believed PoW.....I so hate nominal rolls and records as for example if you look at different 1944 sources of the numbers of RAMC who went to Arnhem you come up with about three differnet numbers..if they got it 'wrong' in 1944 what chance do we have now??????

 

Agreed he is not in the PoW book...but we know this book is not 100% accurate and the comment was down in the nominal as believed PoW.....I so hate nominal rolls and records as for example if you look at different 1944 sources of the numbers of RAMC who went to Arnhem you come up with about three differnet numbers..if they got it 'wrong' in 1944 what chance do we have now??????

I think this problem will haunt researchers and historians forever mate! As you rightly say, if the "source" documents can't be trusted, what chance is there of ever saying with 100% confidence that something is right or not?
As we know, even first hand accounts from people that witnessed events all those years ago can be "open to interpretation" shall we say.

All the best............