The following undated photograph shows some members of 133 Parachute Field Ambulance (PFA) “in the woods near Arnhem”. Lt Dr David Olliff is reportedly standing, 3rd from right: They may have been some of 40 reported adrift from the main body at the Ginkel Heath DZ on 18 September 1944. I knew one of these chaps in the 1960s. Another photo of four, reportedly taken on 20 September 1944 in the Otterlo area is at: https://mobile.twitter.com/swwec1/status/1042748469688119297 Some background on 133 PFA may be seen at: 133 Parachute Field Ambulance RAMC | ParaData and: 133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance - Wikipedia A personal account from another of its doctors, Captain Theo Redman, is at: marketgarden.com-veterans memories - Theo Francis Redman In another recent offering on 224 PFA, Tricky Dicky drew attention to the very insightful offering: https://militaryhealth.bmj.com/content/jramc/89/5/235.full.pdf and I was much struck by the account of Selection of Personnel, designed to pick out likely ‘good fits’, not least the perhaps nuanced sequence in which the author chose to set them down. Worth a read.
As you say there were, in total, about 40 members of 133 PFA in hiding after their planes overshot the DZ on 18th September, they evaded for seven days before linking up and being taken care of by the local resistance. On 5th October a party of four men from this unit were successfully taken across the Rhine, via the Windmill route, by the resistance. On 9th October a second attempt was made but this party were intercepted at a check point in Amerongen resulting in three becoming POWs. One of their guides, Simon van der Bent, was captured and executed at Fort de Bilt the following day. To ensure that the final member of this evading party could escape his brother Maarten, who was also acting as a guide, had to cycle past his brother, showing no signs of recogition or emotion, knowing that would almost certainly be the last time that he would see him alive. Lt Oliff and the remaining members of his party joined the successful Pegasus 1 escape on 22/23rd October. Maarten van der Bent and another brother, Jacob, acted as guides on this operation and joined the British troops that crossed the river that night.
Many thanks for your additional detail. The van der Bent element is especially moving. I shall pass it on to a granddaughter of one of those involved, for whom it will doubtless evoke bittersweet emotions.
Quarterfinal - I have Olliff’s Escape and Evasion report which lists the names of those that escaped with him. Do you know the relatives name?
