Yesterday was one of those magical tours. With his son and wife we followed in the footsteps of Flight Engineer Alcock of 196 Sqdn RAF. He flew 4 missions in a Short Stirling to Arnhem, two towing a glider and two resupply mission.
They kindly supplied me with a copy of his flight log and that became the start for my research. He flew with Flight Sergeant Sargant, not a very common name so that helps immediately to find more information about flights and crew.
On the website of the UK National Archives you can download the Operations Record Book of 196 Squadron and there I found them flying Short Stirling LJ928, they would fly this plane on 18 and 20 September too, but not on their last Market mission on the 23rd of September.
It turned out that LJ928 crashed near Doorwerth on the 21st of September, killing all but one on board but this day the Alcocks crew stood down and was spared this terrible fate.
Source: Aviation Safety Network
Armed with a lot of extra information from various sources but especially from the book Green On by Arie-Jan van Hees (highly recommended) all was now ready for our tour.
The tour begins
We met at the Airborne Cemetery and then drove to Heelsum to look at the memorial there. It is made using the original resupply containers so the link with the resupply flights is very strong.
Then a visit to LZ-S where the gliders landed that were towed by Sargant, Alcock and the crew. The gliders most likely contained Jeeps for the 1st Para Brigade and it seems they landed safely on both days. Then a visit to RAF Pilot David Lord memorial who was awarded a posthumous VC for his heroic resupply flight on September 19th. With his Dakota on fire he made an extra pass over the DZ in order to drop the last two supply bundles after which the plane crashed killing all but one of the crew.
SDZ-V
Next up was the supply dropzone Victor (SDZ-V) where we visited the memorial for Dakota FZ626. They flew through a hail of anti aircraft fire, got hit badly and then pilot Wilson decided to take the fight to the enemy. He steered the Dakota straight down towards a 20mm gun position. He barely missed it but then he hit a tree and crashed. You can still see the damage the plane did to the tree. We also watched the harrowing German Wochenschau footage of the resupply flights.
Doorwerth
There was still more to see because now it was time to visit Doorwerth and while driving we listened to a number of Troop Carrier pilots and their experiences during Market Garden. We arrived at the memorial for LJ928. which crashed with a different crew on the 21st of September. While we were there we were approached by the lady who lives across the street. She told us that the whole neighborhood has adopted the monument and looks after its maintenance. They clean it when required and add fresh plants every year.
After learning that she was talking to the son of a the Flight Engineer who had flow 3 missions on this plane she said they still find bits and pieces of metal from the plane. She fetched a bit of recently found metal and gave it to my guest, this may very well have been from the plane his father flew in all those years ago. Tears flowed freely.
Hartenstein Museum grounds
Onwards, this time to the Hartenstein grounds where we listened to Stanley Maxted’s recording of the resupply on the 20th. We were almost at the same spot where it was recorded. It could even have been resupply flight that Alcock was in. There were two missions flown by 196 Squadron that day and it is unclear to me in which one Alcock participated.
Only two more stops to go, we visited the Air Dispatch memorial next to the cemetery. Dedicated to the brave men who pushed out the containers and bundles. Often barefoot and without wearing their bulky parachute which impeded moving around the plane many lost their lives. All dispatches killed are listed on the memorial.
Air Dispatch Memorial and Cemetery
The last stop was the Airborne Cemetery where we visited a number of RAF crew graves of which there are more than 250. Of course we visited the unlucky crew of the LJ928. A solemn and fitting end to a very special day on the battlefields.
