67th Anniversary of Operation Varsity. 24th March 1945.

Saturday 24th March 2012 will see the 67th anniversary of the Rhine crossing operations which took place along a stretch of the Rhine around the towns of Hamminkeln and Wesel. The airborne operation (Varsity) was in conjunction with the amphibious river crossing operation (Plunder) with the aim being that the airborne elements would link up with the land forces within hours allowing a strong bridgehead to be formed. Two Airborne Divisions took part in the operation; U.S. 17th Airborne Division and British 6th Airborne Division, both part of U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps. British 6th Airborne Division were to capture the villages of Schnappenberg and Hamminkeln, moving on to clear parts of the Diersfordter Wald (forest) and capture three bridges over the River Issel. The two Airborne Divisions would then hold the ground they'd captured until relived by advancing land forces.

The Airborne operation itself was the largest ever to take place in a single day, with 9 British airborne battalions and 6 American airborne battalions carried in literally thousands of aircraft. Initial losses were heavy due to massed enemy flak and some LZ/DZ's being obscured by smoke. However, within six hours all the objectives were taken.

The Glider Pilot Regiment itself took part once again although after losing so many men in the Arnhem battle its ranks were now strengthened by members of the RAF who had been trained to fly gliders and operate on the ground as fighting soldiers.

For a more in-depth account of the operation I can't recommend enough the book 'The Last Drop: Operation Varsity, March 24-25 1945' by Stephen L. Wright if you accompany this work with 'Operations Plunder & Varsity' by Tim Saunders you should be able to glean a good understanding of this most important action. Both books are available from Amazon (although other booksellers are available).

Unfortunately, Chalk won't be able to mark the anniversary with a photoshoot as we have done in the past, but this does not mean that we will not be remembering the men of the Glider Pilot Regiment and all the units that took part in this final massive airborne assault of the Second World War.

Thank you.

Supplier Recommendation: Military Library Research Service

The Military Library Research Service, or MLRS for short, are a well established company set up to reprint military books and manuals that are overlooked by others.

For an upcoming event I needed to find two maps of the 1945 Rhine crossing; one for Operation Varsity and one for Operation Plunder. I searched high and low all over the internet and found some very 'interesting' prices and dubious quality before I stumbled across a forum post recommending MLRS. After just a few minutes searching through the maps and books on offer I found exactly what I was looking for and at a decent price too. There was a choice of hard copy or high resolution PDF supplied on disc, I chose the latter and only had to wait a couple of days before the envelope dropped on the doormat!

The quality of the scans are excellent, perfect for Chalk's requirements. All throughout the transaction I had good communications with MLRS; confirmation of my order, payment and dispatch. No fuss, no nonsense, just a nice and easy process.

If you're looking for rare or unusual military publications, maps etc than you should check with MLRS first! You won't be disappointed.

Link: MLRS Books

1942 Dated Denison Smock - Or Maybe Not?

Ok, so its not an original '42 dated Denison. Its actually one of the new Rangercamp smocks that's had some 'modifications', if you can call them that? I spent considerable time working on the fabric to make the colour more accurate and break down some of the fibres, then its been hung on the washing line for a couple of months in all weathers. Glider Pilot wings have been added along with Sgt stripes and crown. An original jack knife lanyard has been used as a whistle lanyard and a grenade pull has replace the cloth zipper pull (the idea was taken from an original photograph).

As an experiment I also removed the sizing label that come with all Rangercamp smocks and created my own by copying an original and printing it out onto transfer paper before transposing onto some vintage cotton and sewing into place.

 If you compare this smock to the photo of the smock as its supplied from Rangercamp, I'm sure you'll agree it looks more acceptable now? Also follow the link to the Paradata website you can see original 1st patterns, 2nd patterns and also post-war examples.

Link: Paradata Smocks

Glider Pilot Regiment 70th Anniversary

The Glider Pilot Regiment was officially established by Army Order, 70 years ago today on 24th February 1942.

Much has been written regarding the formation of the Regiment (see recommended reading list) and there are now also several books dedicated to the overall history and actions in which the Regiment took part. With battle honours including; The Normandy Landings, Arnhem, The Rhine Crossing and Sicily. Let's not forget that the Regiment lived on until the formation of the Army Air Corps in 1957 and so also saw service in Palestine and Malaysia as well as some pilots taking part in the Berlin Airlift in powered aircraft!

The original Commanding Officer of the Regiment, Lt Col John Rock was tragically killed in a flying accident in September 1942. He was replaced by Lt Col George Chatterton who realised that he needed a unit of men who would be able to fight and fly to extremely high standards - total soldiers. To this end Brigade of Guards Drill Sergeants were brought in to manage an in-depth training period and through a unique partnership with the RAF these fighting men we also trained to fly.

Chatterton's now famous address to the Regiment shows his no nonsense approach and the level of commitment he demanded.

"We will forge this regiment as a weapon of attack... Not only will we be trained as pilots, but in all we do... I shall be quite ruthless... Only the best will be tolerated. If you do not like it, you can go back whence you came." (Pegasus Archive)

I will leave our final words to be those of General Sir John Hackett who says:

"Those who went to battle in gliders and above all those who get them there, the Glider Pilots, deserve our enduring esteem."

The Glider Pilot Regiment 1942 to 1957. We will remember them.

Reproduction 24 Hour Rations

Some time ago we decided to see if we could produce some realistic reproduction 24hr Ration boxes complete with contents for display purposes (these are not edible). Through a process of trial and error we were able to replicate the waxed outer box and sealing tape, and by utilising different papers and cards we were also able to make up some contents along with an instruction sheet. As some of you will know there is very little reference available for the 24hr Ration packs; a handful of photographs and a tiny bit of WD footage (available on the Pathe News site, link below. Watch at 00:53 seconds in). Waxing the outer box was an interesting and smelly process which needed an understanding partner and the use of their oven!

Attached are some photographs of the results in colour and black and white. We even made up a batch of empty boxes to litter around our slit trenches at living history events for added authenticity. Matt

Link: 24 Hour Rations 00:53

D Day Glider Pilot Photo's

These two pics were uploaded to the WW2Talk forum earlier this year and I thought I'd better put them on here as they contain some nice details. They were taken by Sgt. Dave Reynolds who jumped with 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. The GP's are waiting on the beach to be taken back to England should they be needed for further glider operations. Of note are the chap with the Thompson, the chap next to him with the German K98, use of respirator cases and the strangely fitted helmet which looks (to me) very much like a Dispatch Riders helmet. Feast your eyes! And follow the link to the WW2Talk forum for more information. Matt

Link: WW2Talk Forum Thread

Bernard Osborn's Story

67 years ago to the day, (original article dated: 6th June 2011) Paul Fiddian's granddad was being towed over the channel to participate in one of the most famous operations of WW2: D-Day. In this article, he tells the story of his flying career, which took him from the green fields of England to the muddy grounds of Arnhem and back again.

With the kind permission of Paul Fiddian, Chalk would like to present a rather interesting article which I managed to stumble across during one a nice quiet afternoon whilst looking for anything related to the Glider Pilot Regiment... its amazing what you can find when you take the time to look!

Paul has very kindly allowed us to include the images taken from his original article on the Global Aviation Resource website as they really are extremely interesting pictures including a shot of the experimental 'white' Horsa as used in the Middle East and one or two of GP's and Airborne types on active service in Palastine 1946.

Please follow the link below and read Paul's article, if you'd like to leave any comments here then please do so.

Link: Aviation History