Military Vehicle Trust, Essex, Arnhem 2004

Arnhem 2004

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September was here at last, and so it was off to the commemorations at Arnhem/Oosterbeek again. Keith Brooker and myself had booked in with the Airborne battle wheels Oosterbeek camp as we left last year to guarantee a place for this years 60th anniversary. The ABWO really lay on a good site with lots of activities to get involved in, including food and beer! We took the Jeep, and Chris & Yvonne Butcher took Keith's Morris.
On route we met up with Peter Holden, in his Morris, who Joined our small convoy. The weather was appalling in Holland and in the bad vis and traffic, we lost Peter! We waited for some time, had he broken down or was he lost? We decided to press on, as there was nothing we could do, fortunately He was picked up by another convoy of MVT members from Earls Colne, who towed him to the site. He was able to get a transporter to the docks on the return trip, and the Earls colne group towed him on the other side.
After arriving at the site and setting camp, Nell, Keith's Dutch girlfriend, came and met us. The next day we took the Jeep and visited a couple of the fantastic museums in the area, had lunch in Oosterbeek then back to the camp to relax before dinner.
Friday we started off visiting the Westerbouwing restaurant to an unveiling of a new memorial. While we were there we were invited on the recce tour, laid on by the guys of ABWO. We met at the Hartenstein Hotel and there followed a tour of the battle sites, stopping at memorials to lay flowers. The tour was mostly off road through the woods on dirt tracks and Chris had great pleasure in taking the Morris through a small pond to the consternation of Keith who watched from the dry Jeep!
During the tour we took the Jeeps through the famous tunnel under the railway, the scene of the withdrawal north of the railway at Wolfhezen, and then to Westerbouing again to watch the firing of the 75mm pack howitzers. The evening was spent at the Schoonoord restaurant at the Oosterbeek crossroads, which is the hub of the commemorations and a meeting point for the veterans. Here we met up with Eric Hemmings, from then on known as "the token oldie", who joined us for the rest of the weekend. '
On Saturday we watched the para drop at Ginkel heath from a distance as we were forming up for the race to the bridge. Some Dutch friends of ours joined us on the convoy, Rick in the Morris, Bram and Andy in the Jeep. Andy is a fellow enthusiast of the AFPU team and carried with him his Bell and Howell 16mm camera. The convoy, which was made up of approx 350 vehicles, finished at the Hartenstein Hotel for an impromptu show. Back at the site we had a barbeque and more beer, which was a good finish to the day.
We spent Sunday morning on the south side of the Rine at Driel, the site of the Polish Para drop, visiting the memorials and an exhibition of the Polish parachute brigades photos and equipment. On route we stopped north of the John Frost Bridge to let Keith drive the Morris across, Cheshire cats spring to mind! On our return trip to Oosterbeek we took a detour to see the house where General Urquhart was held up by surrounding Germans. Eric Hemmings did his Standard bearing duties at the Airborne cemetery, rubbing shoulders with Royalty, so was absent from the party, but we met for lunch. Sunday night Beer & Food. Monday we visited the airborne museum before we left, a must see. The journey home was wet and the sea was rough, but the thoughts of the week kept our spirits up, and we can't wait for next year.
Thanks to Hans, Dick all at ABWO for yet another great weekend and also to Nell, Rick and Bram for their help on the odd times we needed translators. Barry Hammerton