Page 87 - MERCIAN Eagle 2020

SRACC – Arnhem75 Commemoration Ride
Lee Davies
So many people to thank and as the dust settles I will over the next few days and weeks, thank those people who, without their generosity and support this wouldn’t have happened. Standing outside the Regimental Museum with the SRACC Arnhem 75 team, who in all honesty, I
had doubts whether some of them would complete the challenge. But everyone, who rolled out just after 07:30 on the 18th September 2019, again rolled into the Port at Rotterdam on the 22nd.
With a strong sense of purpose in our minds, we stood for
photographs standing
next to our Regimental
our ride. The poem was about a soldier’s journey from is Home to Arnhem, Steve played the last post and Reveille. It was
at that moment we started to realise why we were doing this Commemoration Ride. We thank Patricia Duke-Cox the Director
of the Museum for allowing us to carry
out the Commemoration and for providing refreshments. A quick change out of our Arnhem75 ride jersey then the tough ride
to Hull with tired legs from the day before. At approx. 18:30 we arrived at the ferry port, onto the ferry to take us to Holland. 71
moved into the cemetery to meet a most wonderful lady. Wilhelmina Reiken, a young girl of 9 when the battle of Arnhem began, now 84, gave us a personal account of her experience and spoke about her toy dog that comforted her and the grave she has tended for 75 years. She also told us that she now after many years of trying to get possession of the Helmet Trooper Edmond wore during the battle and was placed on the cross of his temporary grave. We were privileged to hear such a personal account of the battle and the effect it had on her and the Dutch people. We invited her to attend our small act of remembrance to honour not just the South Staffords men but all that fell in the battle and are buried in the cemetery.
After the service, each member of the team was given a laminate with the names of South Stafford soldiers that were buried in the cemetery. They then went off on their own to lay the crosses and reflected themselves on the sacrifices that were made. I can say that it was an emotional experience.
With the Cemetery Commemoration complete we then moved on to the Old ‘Lonsdale’ church. This was the location the South Staffords defended the perimeter and the area surrounding the church where 2 men of the Regiment, for their actions were awarded the Victoria Cross. We carried out 2 Wreath Laying Ceremonies, the first was at the Bench of the ‘Lonsdale force’. This
is where Francis Clarkson, the daughter of one of the Victoria Cross recipients, Major Robert Cain, spoke to the group about her father again a real privilege to have Francie
Association Mascot, the Regimental Standards for the SRA and the Medals of Major Cain; one of the Regiments finest soldiers, being held so carefully by his daughter. As I looked at his VC I knew that
As I looked at his VC I knew that in the spirit of the men of Arnhem, we had no chance of backing out of the challenge
miles.
Day 3 took us from
Rotterdam to Arnhem and was, in my opinion the toughest ride just shy of 100 miles with the wind
in our faces the whole time. It started off slow with riders adapting to the Dutch infrastructure. Rotterdam is a busy
city and we were lucky we had our friend Pete our Dutch Guide to help
in the spirit of the men
of Arnhem, we had no
chance of backing out of
the challenge. It was fantastic support from our own and Regimental Families.
Day 1 was a 100-mile ride to RAF Coningsby to spend the night. The ride up to Coningsby, gave us only the first time the group had ridden as a full team (98%). We had lunch at ‘Grannies’ Café at Cotgrave,
at approx. 40 miles, which was a welcome recharge for the next stage of the leg. We pushed on but soon had a technical issue with one of the Riders saddle posts. The support driver then set off on a mercy mission to find some Carbon gripper paste. We met up with him in Fulbeck for a rest stop and carried out some emergency repairs. We got into Coningsby in good time with an average speed of 16.5mph. We were all booked into the Sgts Mess and prepared for the next day. We were served a lovely meal at the Abbey Lodge, just outside Woodhall Spa. Returned to the Mess for a good and well-deserved night’s sleep.
Day 2 began with a presentation to the Sgts mess for putting us up for the night. How shocked were we to find that the Mess Manager, Jess, was the daughter of a ‘Stafford’ Dave Bond who served with some of us in the 90’s. We moved on to the Battle of Britain memorial flight Tour to see those iconic aircraft. Unfortunately, the Dakota was stuck at Manchester due to engine problems. Instead, a photo with the beautiful Lancaster with a presentation to Diane our Tour Guide. It was an absolute privilege to be up close to the historic aircraft. We then moved to Woodhall Spa to lay a wreath at the 1st Airlanding Bde Memorial at Woodhall Spa, the first tears came as I read out an emotional poem that was written by Derek Watts specifically for
us navigate out of the city. Catching the River ferry was an experience. We also stopped for a photo opportunity at the Swan Bridge. We stopped at a beautiful riverside Café/Restaurant in Schoonhoven where we treated to homemade soup and sandwiches. We continued our ride on the Dyke road which effectively follows the river all the way to Arnhem. A great relief when we rolled into Oosterbeek and was greeted by a Willy’s Jeep at the Airborne Museum by a group of WW2 Reenactors. When talking to them we found that some came from Tamworth. We wished them well and carried on, with the light failing
to our accommodation. We arrived just before 8pm greeted by the ‘Fast group’ with a celebratory bottle
of beer. We had made
and her family with us.
We then laid a wreath at
the Church memorial on behalf of the civilians in our party. This was supposed to be at the People of the Gelderland memorial at
the Airborne museum but due to a clash in events
we were unable lay the wreath at that location. The wreath was laid by one of the civilians in our party
in respect to the Dutch people who were killed in the Battle and the
thousands who suffered afterwards.
The final commemoration was a mile or
so down the road at the location where the second of the two Victoria Crosses were won. The Jack Baskeyfield tree. As we approached the junction where he gallantly defended his position, we noticed that crowds had gathered on the roadside.
it - we were in Arnhem. After a quick clean-up we settled down to buy a truly magnificent Italian meal prepared by the hosts of our accommodation. At about midnight we settled down for the night.
Day 4 The
Commemoration day and
from the start emotions
were running high. Due to
fatigue and the late start, we changed the route to 20miles omitting the Para Drop on Ginkle Heath. It was a shame, but I think the extra rest time was need for the team. We proceeded to our first memorial which was at the CWGC Cemetery at Oosterbeek. I distributed the Poppy Crosses to all the team and the name slips of all the graves
of the men of the South Staffords. We then
We were privileged to hear such a personal account of the battle and the effect it
had on her and the Dutch people
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