WHEN the 11^th Parachute Battalion jumped over Arnhem on September 18 1944 it had 750 men.

But only 187 returned to the barracks in Melton Mowbray after the ill-fated campaign.

"We lost seven officers on that first day," said William Langley. Bill, from Dover, was second out of the aircraft because he was carrying a mortar, which together with the bombs and several Bren Gun magazines increased his pack-load by 75lbs.

"As we marched towards Arnhem eight miles away, there were woods either side of the road hiding German snipers and machine guns. It was very scary. We lost a lot of men."

The Battalion got within sight of the Arnhem bridge where the battle was still raging, clearing houses of Germans as they went. But instead of going on they were ordered to pull back.

"We reached Elizabeth's Hospital and stopped at this house on a corner," said William. "It was reported there were German tanks about half a mile down the road, and snipers were firing from the Hospital windows.

"All of a sudden there was a commotion and three officers came running up the road. One of them was Major General Urquhart making his escape from a house where he had been hiding just down the road. We had no idea they were there. They drove off in a Jeep.

"About three quarters of an hour later this tank came up the road. He swung his gun and knocked some of the brickwork out of the house where we were. Everyone was throwing everything at it. Eventually it was knocked out by a PIAT anti-tank missile."

Many years later William  found a print in a memorabilia shop in Oosterbeck which depicted the scene in graphic detail. It was painted by a Dutch artist who witnessed the event as an eight-year old boy. 

"We had to make our way back to Oosterbeck which is four miles from Arnhem," said William. "I was 600 yards from the Church and not far from the first aid post set up in the home of Kate ter Horst, famously known as the ‘Angel of Arnhem'. The house was knocked to pieces and there were dead soldiers piled up in the garden." 

In company with Sgt Wally Graves, from Wingham, near Canterbury, William set off across country and hid in a thatched cottage. But it was mortared and caught fire. Wally had been knocked unconscious by the blast so William had to pull him out.

They managed to relocate remnants of their Battalion and dug-in.

On the day they were ordered to pull out it rained continuously. They were taken across the Rhine by Canadian Royal Engineers in small boats.

Eventually they managed to scramble up the bank on the opposite side from where they were able to march to the relative safety of Eindhoven.