Is anyone in a position to put me in contact with J. A. Hey who is the author of Roll of Honour – Battle of Arnhem September 1944? I'd be very grateful and it would ensure that someone is commemorated fully ...
I am not sure if he is alive. Geert Maasen did the 5th Edition. Contact the Society of Friends of the Airborne Museum.
Skip I believe he died before the publication of the last ROH - as John says it was a joint collaboration Regards Andy
Skip Sadly Jan Hey died shortly after the publication of the 5th Edition of the Roll of Honour. If you read back over the threads on this forum you will see that there was a major disagreement between the various factions involved in the publication of this revised edition and that it came very close to not being published at all. As a result of this after Jan's death the copyright for the publication was passed on to another Dutch person. Any future proposed changes or additions to the current text should therefore be addressed to that individual. If you PM me I will be glad to give you his details.
I was happy and honoured to add my two cents worth (mostly R.C.E. and R.E. info) and extremely pleased to miss all of the fighting that John made reference to. Except for some minor tweeting I don't think that there is much left for a 6th Edition. I could be wrong. Is there?
Probably not now John - I also thought it a great publication and glad that it made it to the 5th edition despite the politics John (HorsaP) - I have PM'd you ...
Skip Thanks - I have responded to your PM. There was one renaming, Sapper Henry Miller Sherwood, and one burial, Driver John Joseph Kennell, at Oosterbeek Cemetery this September so as further bodies are discovered or positive identification of some of those currently marked as "Unknown" takes place there will probably be a need for some form of update/revision of the RoH at some time in the future - but who knows when this will be!! Sherwood was only identified as the result of a chance conversation with a sapper who had witnessed his death. Sadly as the veterans disappear the chances of this happening again are slight.
You really would be surprised how much more undiscovered and detailed information still can be found on those killed at Arnhem. Records keep being released in archives all over the world and new information keeps emerging from various sources. Next to that there is the identification of remains found in fieldgraves on the former battlefield and the re-dedication of previously unmarked graves in CWGC War Cemeteries. Hence the publisher who holds the copyrights is known to definately have plans for a 6th edition of Jan Hey's Roll of Honour. Like John says it is a matter of when this will be. Further to Sapper Henry Sherwood, you will appreciate that he certainly was not identified just by a veteran's eye witness account alone. Evidence beyond any reasonable doubt is required. Through extensive anthroplogical and historical research it had already been established that these remains could belong to no other than Henry Sherwood of 1st Para Sqn RE. The veteran's eye witness account was the last piece to the puzzle and as for evidence gave it the final push it needed.
From the discussions that I had in Arnhem last month, I understand that it is likely that some further renaming of graves can be anticipated during next years commemorations as well. The Dutch Recovery and Identification Unit continue to do a magnificent job. I had the honour to attend both of the events John refers to above and the number of people in attendance on an absolutely foul day was remarkable. So many locals had taken a day off work or a half day to attend the ceremonies, both of which were conducted with due respect by the current units represented there.
