If you are an historical wargamer it likely has not passed your notice that this week marks the eightieth anniversary of the start of Operation Market Garden and the ill-fated Allied drive to Arnhem in the forlorn hope of ending the Second World War in Europe by Christmas 1944.

How often that has been heard in the annals of military history, ‘it’ll be all over by Christmas’ and how many regrets have followed such a bold pronouncement? 

There is not much celebrating registered on Dad’s face on the 18th September 1944, as he sits in the drivers hatch of this Sherman OP tank of 55th Field Regiment, amid very happy Dutch residents of Eindhoven celebrating liberation from the Gestapo and Nazi occupation. He had lost good friends in this war, with his CO, Captain Wilfred Good, killed about a week or so before this picture was taken.

The anniversary this week, no doubt prompted by copious email promotions from several military book vendors advertising yet more new tomes analysing the campaign, not to mention numerous encouragements to build a collection for Bolt Action for Arnhem, brought back a lot of personal memories of time spent with my own Dad touring this part of Europe as a lad growing up in the seventies with only a minimal understanding of what experiences my father’s generation had gone through; to a more mature me following the route of Guard’s Armoured Division with my own family in 2017 as we visited the places so vividly captured by the army photography team that recorded the deadly progress of the Guards along what became known as ‘Hell’s Highway’, for very good reason, via Eindhoven and Nijmegen.

The smouldering remains of knocked-out Guard’s Shermans pushed to the side of the road as the advance to Eindhoven presses on.

In an era where modern generations will struggle to be able to tell you what D-Day was and it’s implications for the modern world, it was important to me that both my sons had a thorough understanding about what their paternal grandparents went though and indeed a broader understanding of British history in general, so poorly taught in our educative establishments today.

Before and After, Eindhoven 2017 – 1944

Thus our tour from the Belgian border from Joe’s Bridge to Eindhoven and later on up to Nijmegen is an experience I know they both recall very well, and our pilgrimage to Leopoldsburg Commonwealth War Cemetery to lay a family poppy and cross at Captain Good’s grave emphasised the privilege that we enjoy in Western Europe having been free from war and tyranny for the last eighty years but that vigilance is needed always and the cost can be high when ‘Good men do nothing’.

On the anniversary of our visit to Holland, Carolyn and I drove up to Cardiff to stay with Will and his girlfriend Ollie to enjoy some family time, walking, talking and eating, with a thoroughly enjoyable day exploring the coast from Ogmore on Sea to Dunraven Castle, coupled with glorious weather and scenery, and I reminded Will of our trip back then and the picture of his Grandpa taken eighty years previously to the day, and it was really great to pay our own respects to ‘The Greatest Generation’ as we were able to enjoy such a lovely day together.

Glorious weather out on the coastal path from Ogmore to Dunraven

Next up: I’m off to Clotted Lard this weekend to run a couple of games of Kiss Me, Hardy among other things, so an AAR of events to follow.

More anon

JJ