No . 134
The Trusty Servant
Arnhem Battlefield Tour 2022
Hugh Barnard reports on the OW trip to Arnhem , which took place in May 2022 .
We arrived at Arnhem Centraal station and crossed the road to our lodgings in Hotel Haarhuis which provided an excellent base for the tour . After depositing baggage and freshening up , we were guided to St Eusebius ’ Church which commands spectacular views of central Arnhem and the surrounding flat landscape . This was our first opportunity to view the John Frost Bridge , the “ bridge too far ” that was the objective of Operation Market Garden . In the distance , it was also possible to glimpse the bridge at Nijmegen to the south which afforded an idea of the scale of the campaign .
Our second day began in the suburb of Oosterbeek with a gathering at the Airborne Monument , commemorating those who lost their lives in 1944 . Directly opposite is the Airborne Museum Hartenstein , the building in which Roy Urquhart , commander of 1 st Airborne Division set up his HQ .
Having been given our bearings , we walked about five hundred yards to Restaurant Schoonoord . The present site of the restaurant formed part of the perimeter which was held by the 1 st Airborne Division . A similar distance to the south of the restaurant is Hotel Tafelberg , which was used as a surgical theatre during the battle . This brought home to us the very constrained nature of the battlefield and something of the bitterness of the fighting , in which buildings would be shared by the opposing sides .
The Hartenstein , which before the war was also an hotel , is now a museum and has recently been extended and upgraded . It houses a wealth of artefacts : examples of weapons which were employed in the battle by both sides , John Frost ’ s hunting horn and a tin of Benzedrine tablets , a stimulant given to troops . The stories of some of the participants are vividly told .
1,684 Commonwealth servicemen are buried in Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery . Among them are three OWs , whose sacrifice we honoured by laying wreaths at their graves . In the nearby Oosterbeek Civil Cemetery lies Lipmann-Kessel , who chose to be buried in the same place as so many of his former comrades . He died in 1986 having had a successful career as an orthopaedic surgeon in London . Our party was privileged to include our own legendary orthopaedic surgeon , Professor Fred Hartley ( F 1953-58 ) who had worked with Lippy . He paid his own personal tribute at Lippy ’ s grave — a very poignant moment .
The third day began with a visit to ‘ Urquhart House ’. Zwarteweg 14 , where Urquhart and two fellow officers were surrounded and forced to take shelter on the night of 18 September . Opposite is St Elizabeth ’ s Hospital where Lipmann-Kessel and other Allied doctors worked alongside
Dutch and German doctors to help the wounded of both sides , as well as Dutch civilians caught up in the heavy fighting .
From here we headed to Jonkerbos Cemetery just outside Nijmegen and laid a wreath at the headstone of Old Wykehamist Lieutenant John Arthur Moller of the Grenadier Guards who died on 19 September 1944 .
At Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery close to the border we paid our respects to Lieutenant Daniel Meinertzhagen , an OW in the Coldstream Guards who was killed on 2 October 1944 . A Dutch local gave us a warm greeting and explained how he is delighted to educate local school children about the conflict , having been 6 years old when the battle took place .
Our final evening was the traditional celebratory gala dinner with generous tributes made to our wonderful tour leaders , Mike Wallis and James Webster . We had all had a fascinating and enjoyable time walking the ground of one of the Second World War ’ s most famous battles and being introduced to the stories of many of those involved , including OWs and relatives of many of the members of the party .
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