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OPERATION VARSITY 60TH ANIVERSARY DAY, SUNDAY 20th MARCH
2005
To mark
the 60th anniversary of the largest single drop airborne
operation ever to take place, a commemorative church service
and display was organised by the Royal Air Force at RAF
Shawbury, Shropshire on Sunday 20th March 2005.
The event, which unfortunately was
not open to the public, was held to commemorate Operation
Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine, and was the biggest
event, second only to the Royal International Air Tattoo, to
be organised and held by the Royal Air Force this year.
The main aim of this event was to
bring as many veterans of this operation together as
possible, under one roof. That roof being the World War Two
No. 4 hangar at the RAF Station Shawbury. Organised in
conjunction with the Assault Glider Trust, who are based at
this airfield and share one of the historic hangars, the Op
Varsity event was a very special one and the only one of its
kind to be held to mark this historic event.
The First Allied Airborne
Association's contribution to this event came about after
being invited by the Royal Air Force and the Assault Glider
Trust to take part after seeing our annual display at the
Stoneleigh Militaria Fair. Initially our display was
expected by the RAF to be only a small affair. However,
having identified the enormity of this event it was decided
to pull out all the stops to get as many of the FAAA
troopers together as possible, to undertake a large display
representing the Glider troops of the 17th Airborne
Division.
RAF Shawbury was some distance from
our base location at the former airfield at Twinwood in
Bedfordshire, and it would be a 250 mile round trip to get
all the equipment and display stores there and back - quite
a task! As it turned out, however, it was well worth the
effort.
Several weeks before the event I
attended a ground recce and visited the display hangar and
the hangar in which the Assault Glider Trust were building
their Horsa Glider. This would be the first time that I had
ever visited the station and certainly the first time I had
seen this huge engineering feat that was the Horsa built
from scratch using the original aircraft plans.
Initially, my contact was solely
through the Assault Glider Trust and their aim was to have
as many WWII re-enactors involved as possible, and even
before attending the recce I had nearly 40 individuals
interested, from 3 groups! However, on attending the recce,
it was made clear to me that due to security these numbers
were to be drastically cut, initially to an unworkable
number and then to a number that would allow me to put on a
credible display to represent the 17th and an element of the
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. This left me
with the problem of having to stand down the WWII RAF group
who were to join us at the event.
It was suggested that this group
contact the station independently and ask if they could get
on board. Permission was granted and come the day of the
event Ops 39/45 represented the air crew of 38 Group RAF,
crewing the trust's C47 (regardless of how Ops 39/45
attended the event, the overall numbers were the same
whether they had attended on my list of names or
independently - I never got around to asking the RAF how
this works!
In addition to what we were
providing, the Birmingham Pals - a more local group - would
be representing the various British Airborne units.
For the FAAA this was a major
deployment, with troopers attending from all over the
country. The main party, which would be mustering at RAF
Shawbury on Saturday to set up, consisted of about half the
group and included the GMC road party (loaded with all
display stores).
Departure for the truck party was
very early on Saturday morning, arriving at the station at
around midday after a very uneventful but long trip - the
GMC never missing a beat! Security at the station was, quite
naturally, very high and the sight of a 60 year old two and
a half ton truck approaching the main gate confused the
on-duty, live-armed guard.
The remainder of the advance party
arrived in their cars and we all met up at the Guard Room,
where security pictures were taken of all members of the
group and passes issued.
Shortly after, we arrived at Hangar
No. 4 where we were met by Squadron Leader Bob Higgins, the
event organiser and our Liaison Officer. Without time for
even a cup of tea the group began setting up their display,
very pleased with the size of the area we were allocated,
which was much larger than I had originally been told. This
allowed us to display all the kit we had brought in the
truck -and the truck itself.
While the troops busied themselves
setting up, dressed in working HBT fatigues and garrison
hats, I left with the Squadron Leader to take over the
accommodation allocated for the group that night. Once again
we were all pleasantly surprised that the initial 12x12
tents suggested had now turned into one of the station's
carpeted lecture rooms, a short distance from the Airmens
Club. This was to prove very comfortable and afforded us
security for our personal kit.
After several hours of working on the
display, and after the other attractions had been prepared
by the RAF, the hangar was closed and secured and we made
our way up to the accommodation to prepare for the advance
party's social night.
After freshening up, polishing jump
boots and donning clean HBT's, the 10 troopers of the
advance party made their way to the Station Social Club. It
has to be said that we received a warm welcome from the
Barman and more than a few strange looks from the
clientele!! However, it was not long before those visiting
the bar for the evening knew why we were there, as many of
them were to be fully involved in their station's
commemorative service the following day.
Many Airmen in the bar suggested and
indeed raved about the fish & chip shop in the village, and
it seemed rude not to send out for some.
The bar was very comfortable and the
Beer was cheap. The troops played Pool and relaxed until
closing time. After a very long and hard days work my
troopers retired back to their accommodation for the night.
It has to be said that after driving the Jimmy for 5 hours,
when they returned to the accommodation I was already
pushing out the z's!!
Kick off for the event was about 0930
hrs Sunday. However, we were up well before that to tidy up
he accommodation ready for handover and to get to the hangar
to meet the rest of the group arriving and to do last minute
preparations on the display.
The display that we finally chose
covered an area about 10 x 7 metres and represented elements
of the 17th Airborne Division in combat on the outskirts of
the town of Wesel. Tim Bell from Summer of 44, who had
worked with us on several occasions, kindly provided the
75mm Pack Howitzer again. Therefore, the main focus of the
display was around elements of the 680th Glider Field
Artillery Battalion, having been recently re-supplied with
ammunition for the gun and rations for the troops. The scene
depicted the "cannon cockers" of the 680th taking a moment
to relax between fire missions, while Glider infantrymen of
the Division's Headquarter Company helped to provide local
protection during the re-supply operation.
The Airborne Field Artillery were
brought into battle aboard the American built CG4A Gliders,
along with their towing vehicles - the versatile Willys/Ford
Jeep. General re-supply operations were carried out using
the two and a half ton GMC trucks, which, already loaded
with stores, ammunition and rations, were waiting on the
Allied banks of the Rhine ready to cross once the bridgehead
was secure. The display reflected this well I feel!
The subject of the display allowed
the FAAA troops to relax and sit around the display very
much in "first person" but giving all an opportunity to view
what was going on around them.
At the time of the commemorative
service, the FAAA troops were fallen in and were marched to
form up at the rear of the countless rows of seats provided
for the veterans and VIP's. With headdress removed the
troops took part in the service, which lasted about half an
hour. Afterwards, webbing equipment was put on and rifles
re-drawn and the display re- set up.
The afternoon was a very relaxed
affair, with the display being visited by most of the
veterans who attended. Although very much a British
commemoration, many of the veterans remembered serving
shoulder to shoulder with the 17th Airborne Division in
Operation Varsity. Many showed a great interest and a wealth
of knowledge in the weapons we had on display.
About mid-afternoon the C47 from the
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight undertook several very low
fly pasts (one of the perks of displaying on an operational
airfield). Unlike many events that we attend throughout the
year where this aircraft is seen, on its last run over the
airfield the undercarriage was dropped and she banked
sharply, prepared for final approach and landed. Afterwards,
she taxied to hangar no. 4 where she was met by the band of
the Royal Air Force Regiment with the salute being taken by
the Senior attending Royal Air Force Officer.
As the band completed its final tune,
a lone C130 Hercules transport aircraft flew low over the
airfield. It was during this part of the event that I
personally chose to sit on our display in what I thought was
an almost empty hangar. It was during this time, whilst sat
on an ammunition box looking at the Horsa and the frame of
the recently arrived from America, Waco Glider, that I
observed 2 former Glider Pilot Regiment veterans sitting and
chatting in the cockpit of the Horsa Glider. This is what I
will remember most about the event. While all the pomp and
ceremony was going on outside, with VIP's from all 3
services and the American Embassy in attendance - two old
boys, both veterans of WWII, spending some time together out
of the limelight, going over old times in an environment
very much personal to them. This brought a smile to my face,
but what brought a tear to the eye was seeing so many
Veterans of the operation struggling to raise to their feet
to sing during the service and their attempt to stand ramrod
straight during the Minutes silence and national anthem.
We all spoke to many fine men during
the day and it is this that made the event so worth the
effort to attend, it won’t be done again, but we are
honoured to have taken part. There were no veterans from the
17th there, but we feel we represented them to the best of
our ability. It is what we do this for.
In closing I would like to thank the
Royal Air Force and the Glider Assault Trust for inviting us
to attend and I would personally like to thank the troopers
of the FAAA for making such a great effort to muster, well
done lads.
Lee
Bowden
First
Allied Airborne Association
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