Hi,
Yesterday while unveilling a small monument to commemorate the location of the escape from the cauldron by some nearly 2,500 men of the 1st A/B Division, Mervyn (Gilly) Potter (in 1944 a sergeant of the Royal Engineers, 1 Airborne Division) mentioned in his speech a.o. the following
On the bank of the Rijn he spoke of the bravery and effort shown to the survivors of 'Arnhem' by Canadian Engineers. Although he had been given orders to report to the Canadian engineers running the boat service and help out in getting the men across, on arrival on the bank near the Old Church he was told to F... Off and lay down till his turn would come to get in a boat and over the river. He would like to find out more on the Canadian Engineers involved in that operation and he would like to express his gratitude for what in most books about 'Arnhem' has not been covered in any detail. Has anyone got any ideas where my dear friend can make any contacts to express his feelings. Although his eye-sight is very poor these days, a good friend of him lives in Clevedon, Great Britain, too and is on the internet and can handle email and all those modern since. But then this veteran, Derek, served with the Royal Corps of Signals and was detached to the RAF in a capacity as linesman.
I am open to all suggestions and I will pass them on to Merv.
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