大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Hugh Gibbs. He fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

When checking a house my mother lived in after she died in 1984 to make sure that it was empty; the only thing that had been left behind was a farm diary from 1943, which I had written up nearly 40 years before. I think it was on August 25th I was stooking wheat (the corn was cut and tied by a machine called a binder then they would be picked up by hand and put in the shape of an A, 6 or 8 at a time to make a 'stook'). I was in a field overlooking the Welland Valley (East of Market Harborough) when I heard the Dakota transport planes coming. It was a fantastic sight when 2,200 American parachutists dropped about half a mile away.

This turned out to be a practice for the drop for when they took the Nijmegen Bridge over the Rhein.

It wasn't until over 50 years later my wife and I learnt some of these men had been billeted in Quorn and there is a large piece of granite with a plaque on it erected in the old school playing field, from Nijmegen church.

Working on the land in the war one wasn't allowed to join the forces, so I was in the Home Guard with lots of others doing our bit for the war effort and helping to feed the nation.

This was a sight I shall never forget.

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