The untold story of the battle that helped end WW2 in Europe

5 hours ago 4

Katy Prickett

BBC News, Essex

Danny Mason handout A grainy black-and-white photograph   from a paper  showing paratroopers gathered successful  a radical  drinking tea. They are wearing berets. It shows a infinitesimal   conscionable  earlier  they got into planes to beryllium  dropped implicit    German lines astatine  the River Rhine successful  Operation Varsity, March 1945.Danny Mason handout

Paratroopers were snapped for a paper aboriginal connected the greeting of 24 March 1945, drinking beverage earlier getting into planes to beryllium dropped implicit Germany

Operation Varsity "was the conflict that ended" World War Two successful Europe, yet it is mostly chartless to each but subject past buffs.

British, Canadian and American forces took disconnected mostly from Essex airfields connected 24 March 1945, to beryllium dropped straight connected apical of the German lines astatine the River Rhine.

Paratroopers and gliders packed with men descended into fierce warring conditions which resulted successful accelerated success, but immense nonaccomplishment of life. About six weeks later, the Western Allies had met the Russians successful Berlin and Victory successful Europe was declared.

Chris Bullock has organised an lawsuit astatine 1 of the departure airfields, RAF Rivenhall, to retrieve those who died, saying "it's an untold story".

"When you spot a video of the men astatine Rivenhall with their last brew, giving the thumbs up and the V for triumph motion earlier they get into their gliders and you cognize immoderate of them didn't travel home, wrong 3 hours they were dormant – it's important to archer that story," helium said.

Peter Davies astatine  100 sitting successful  an armchair. He has achromatic  hairsbreadth  and ample  glasses and is smiling. He is wearing a bluish  blazer implicit    a achromatic  garment  and a striped tie. On his near  lapel is simply a British Empire Medal.

Peter Davies rejoined the Army aft the war, becoming a Royal Artillery captain. Today he is simply a schoolroom assistant "teaching children to work and bask reading"

Peter Davies, 102, took disconnected from RAF Woodbridge successful Suffolk towed by a Dakota level and carrying "a 17-pounder gun, towing vehicle and weapon detachment of 8 personnel".

He had volunteered for the Glider Pilot Regiment successful 1942 due to the fact that helium thought it would beryllium "more exciting" than his clip arsenic an Army backstage manning a Royal Artillery anti-aircraft unit.

"It's similar flying a ceramic – there's lone 1 way, and it's down," said Mr Davies, from Bollington, Cheshire, describing what it was similar erstwhile the the glider was loosed.

"There was a hellhole of a batch of flak, we mislaid our controls and having mislaid a large chunk of 1 wing, we were pulling deeper and deeper into force ground.

"When we deed the crushed – and I bash mean deed – we were precise overmuch successful the incorrect spot amongst a load of precise aggravated Germans, and it was full chaos."

One American glider came down wrong 50m (about 160ft) of him, "and not 1 antheral got retired live due to the fact that the Germans were determination arsenic well".

But with co-pilot Bert Bowman, helium made it crossed the battlefield to their intended driblet portion and returned to Britain.

Getty Images An avenue of Hamilcar gliders (right) and RAF Halifax towing craft  (left) connected  24 March 1945. The achromatic  and achromatic  representation  shows 3  aircrew with their hands successful  their pockets looking towards the gliders.Getty Images

Large Hamilcar gliders (right), which were utilized to transport artillery and adjacent tanks, were fto escaped erstwhile they had been towed to their driblet zones by Halifax planes (left)

"The Allies landed straight connected apical of the Germans and tons of gliders were changeable down and tons of paratroopers were changeable successful the skies – 80 radical from RAF Rivenhall unsocial mislaid their lives," said Mr Bullock, 56, who served successful the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment for 25 years.

Operation Varsity was the largest azygous airborne cognition successful history, with much than 16,000 men were dropped into occidental Germany connected the aforesaid day.

Its purpose was to found a bridgehead crossed the River Rhine for the main Allied beforehand into Germany and propulsion rapidly towards the Russian forces arriving from the east.

The archetypal portion was the crushed violative Operation Plunder, "which was the biggest-ever stream crossing and was done by British and Canadian forces", Mr Bullock said.

The volition was for the amphibious troops connected the occidental broadside of the Rhine to articulation up with the airborne troops dropped to its east.

Getty Images Allied planes alert  implicit    a shattered German municipality  connected  their mode   to driblet  paratroopers implicit    the Rhine successful  March 1945. The achromatic  and achromatic  images shows planes successful  the sky. Below are roofs with their struts showing, and connected  the close    is simply a heap of extortion   struts exposed to the sky. On some  sides are leafless histrion   branches.Getty Images

More than 9,000 US soldiers and 8,000 British and Canadian soldiers "achieved Varsity's nonsubjective successful 3 hours, but astatine monolithic cost", said Chris Bullock

Varsity took spot conscionable 5 months aft the disastrous Battle of Arnhem, which resulted successful 90% casualties to the Glider Pilot Regiment.

RAF pilots specified arsenic Brian Latham, who had been sent to Texas, to larn to alert combatant planes, were among hundreds who "volunteered" for glider service.

"If we didn't volunteer, we were told we'd ne'er alert again and beryllium made to articulation the infantry oregon spell down a mine," said Mr Latham, 101, from Llandudno, Conway, Wales.

However, helium soon realised being a gilder aviator was "an elite, similar the Commandos".

"We were not toughies and they made america toughies – I became a trained infantry man," helium said.

Getty Images The glider landing area, crossed  the Rhine astatine  Wesel adjacent   the Dutch border, connected  24 March 1945. In the foreground of the achromatic  and achromatic  representation   is simply a cattle  and 2  horses. Behind are obstruction   posts and troops milling around. Behind them are respective  gliders.Getty Images

Brian Latham, who rejoined the RAF aft the warfare and stayed until 1964, said it was hard seeing "our troops taken isolated successful each the fighting" astatine Varsity

Flying from RAF Gosfield, adjacent Braintree, Essex, Mr Latham carried a mortar section, with a Jeep and trailer, and was dropped into crushed fume and dense anti-aircraft fire.

"We conscionable dived into the fume and it was each precise breathtaking and we landed conscionable wherever we should person done astatine Hamminkeln," helium said.

"We were past by a bridge, held by the Royal Ulster Rifles, which was attacked by German tanks until the British 2nd Army came up [having crossed the Rhine]."

Eventually helium was returned to the UK, but grateful not to spell backmost to his location presumption of RAF Broadwell successful Oxfordshire, due to the fact that "we'd mislaid excessively galore people".

Of the 890 Glider Pilot Regiment unit who took portion successful Varsity, much than 20% of them were killed oregon wounded.

Danny Mason handout A achromatic  and achromatic  photograph   of Danny Mason conscionable  aft  World War Two. He is successful  his Parachute Regiment uniform. He is wearing a hard   helmet and a parachute harness implicit    his azygous   and is holding a gun. He is lasting  successful  what appears to beryllium  a hangar oregon  a shed.Danny Mason handout

"It was a fantastic, breathtaking time. We weren't aged capable to beryllium sensible and I don't regret it," said Danny Mason. He added: "War's anserine – I realise that now"

"We were dropped close successful amongst the Germans, which had ne'er been tried before, and we knew it was a termination drop," said Danny Mason, who had qualified to articulation the Parachute Regiment aged 19 conscionable a week earlier.

"But it didn't fuss us. We were young and keen and thought, 'We'll beryllium each right, we'll beryllium fine'."

Now 98 and surviving successful Ludlow, Shropshire, Mr Mason added: "We besides thought the Germans were losing and weren't successful bully warring information and this'll beryllium casual – but it wasn't. We had a precise precocious casualty rate."

Ashley Mason Danny Mason astatine  the 2024 Varsity meal  organised by The Parachute Regimental Association. He has a achromatic  goatee beard and is wearing bladed  black-framed glasses, a achromatic  blazer implicit    a achromatic  jumper and a achromatic  garment  and maroon tie. He has a maroon regimental beret with wings, and connected  his near  bosom  are 4  medals. He is speaking and has his close    manus  raised with his forefinger extended.Ashley Mason

After being demobbed, Danny Mason had a assortment of jobs earlier moving a DIY store successful Ludlow with his precocious wife. He has doubly returned to Germany to sojourn a comrade's grave

At slightest 1,070 members of the US 17th Airborne Division and the British 6th Airborne Division, which included the Canadians, were killed and thousands much were wounded.

"But wrong 4 oregon 5 hours we had accomplished what we had acceptable retired to do," Mr Mason said.

He precocious 600 miles done Germany wrong a fortnight until helium was injured.

"It was the conflict that ended the war, yet cipher was funny successful it," helium said.

"I asked my aged commanding serviceman astir it and helium said it was due to the fact that everyone was fed up. It was six years of warfare and it was specified a immense alleviation erstwhile VE Day came."

Getty Images A achromatic  and achromatic  representation   of 5  soldiers looking towards the camera, surrounded by subject   kit. The antheral   connected  the acold   near  is wearing a apical  hat. They are resting by the broadside  of the road. A sixth worker  stands connected  the extortion   of an amphibious motortruck  successful  the background.Getty Images

Units from the British Second Army, pictured connected 25 March 1945, crossed the Rhine with the First Canadian Army and the US 9th Army and joined up with Varsity's airborne troops

Mr Bullock provided immoderate further context.

"Three weeks aft Varsity, Belsen attraction campy was liberated. Two weeks after, Hitler killed himself, and a week aft that Germany capitulated – it's astir apt hardly talked astir due to the fact that events overtook themselves."

Now moving arsenic an planetary operations information manager for the BBC, helium lives adjacent RAF Rivenhall and began researching its communicative 10 years ago.

Sixty gliders towed by 2 RAF squadrons near the airfield astatine 07:00 GMT connected 24 March 1945, carrying portion of the 6th Airborne Division.

But immoderate of that past is inactive lost.

"There are nary records near of who flew connected which glider and what happened to each antheral – lone the anecdotal grounds and idiosyncratic stories I've managed to way down," helium said.

He has commissioned a memorial to "remember each those who flew from Rivenhall and died connected that day".

It volition beryllium unveiled astatine an lawsuit connected 23 March, with subject vehicles, static stands, re-enactors, presentations and a flypast by a Dakota.

A memorial work volition beryllium held the adjacent time astatine 07:00 GMT.

With acknowledgment to The Glider Pilot Regiment Society and The Parachute Regimental Association.

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