Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery
Encyclopedia
The Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, more commonly known as the Airborne Cemetery, is a military cemetery in Oosterbeek
, Arnhem
, the Netherlands
. It was established in 1945 and is home to 1759 graves from the Second World War. Most of the men buried in the cemetery were Allied servicemen killed in the Battle of Arnhem
, an Allied attempt to cross the Rhine in 1944, or in the liberation of the city
the following year. Men killed in these battles are still discovered in the surrounding area even in the 21st century, and so the number of people interred in the cemetery continues to grow.
, an attempt by the British 2nd Army to bypass the Siegfried Line
and advance into the Ruhr
, Germany’s industrial heartland. The operation required the 1st Airborne Corps to seize several bridges over rivers and canals in the Netherlands, allowing ground forces to advance rapidly through the Netherlands and cross the River Rhine.
The British 1st Airborne Division
was tasked with securing the most distant objectives; bridges over the Lower Rhine
at Arnhem
. The division dropped onto the area on 17 September and a small force was able to secure the Arnhem road bridge. However the unexpected presence of SS Panzer troops of the II SS Panzerkorps meant the Allies were never able to fully secure their objectives and so after nine days without sufficient reinforcement by the advancing ground forces, the division was withdrawn
on September 25.
In the 9 days of battle almost 2000 Allied soldiers were killed (some of whom died of their wounds or in captivity after the battle). These included over 1174 men of the British 1st Airborne Division, 219 men of the Glider Pilot Regiment
, 92 men of the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
, 368 men of the RAF, 79 re-supply dispatchers of the RASC
, 25 men of XXX Corps and 27 men of US IX Troop Carrier Command
. The exact number of German dead is unknown, but is believed to be at least 1300. Additionally it is believed 453 Dutch civilians were killed during the battle.
s dug by the Germans. Kate Ter Horst
, whose house was used as a first aid post during the battle, found the graves of 57 men in her garden when she returned after the war. After Arnhem was liberated
in April 1945, Grave Registration Units of the British 2nd Army moved into the area and began to locate the Allied dead. A small field north of Oosterbeek was offered on perpetual loan by the Netherlands government to the Imperial War Graves Commission in June 1945 and the dead were reburied there. Many of those killed during Arnhem's liberation were also buried at the same site. The cemetery was completed in February 1946, originally with the graves marked by metal crosses, although these were replaced by headstone
s in 1952. Most of the German dead were buried in the SS Heroes Cemetery near Arnhem after the battle, but reburied in Ysselsteyn
after the war.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records 1759 graves in the cemetery as of 2004. 1432 of these are Commonwealth, including British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealanders. The cemetery is also the last resting place of 73 Polish soldiers, (many of them exhumed and moved from Driel, to the disappointment of Driel's residents) and 8 Dutch civilians - some killed in the fighting and some former Commission employees. 253 of the graves are unidentified.
As of 2003 there were still 138 Allied men with no known grave in the area, and they are commemorated at the Groesbeek Memorial. However, evidence of the battle is often discovered even today, and the bodies of Allied servicemen are reinterred at the Airborne Cemetery. When found, bodies are exhumed and Dutch Graves Registration staff attempt to identify them before they are reburied. One soldier of the Border Regiment
was discovered and reburied in the cemetery in 2005 and another who had previously been unidentified was reburied in 2006.
Five men were awarded the Victoria Cross
after the battle, four of them posthumously. Three of the men now rest in the cemetery; Lieutenant
John Hollington Grayburn
of the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment; Flight Lieutenant
David Samuel Anthony Lord
of 271 Squadron
, Royal Air Force
and Captain Lionel Ernest Queripel
of the 10th Battalion, Parachute Regiment. Lance-Sergeant John Daniel Baskeyfield of the 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment
has no known grave and is commemorated instead at Groesbeek Memorial. Major
Robert Henry Cain
, also of 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, survived the battle and was buried on the Isle of Man
when he died in 1974.
Opposite the Airborne Cemetery is a civilian graveyard with a small Commonwealth War Graves Commission plot containing the graves of nine airmen shot down shortly before the battle. It is also home to Lipmann Kessel
, a surgeon with the 16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
during the battle, who wished to be buried near his men after his death in 1986. Similarly, the Moscowa Cemetery three miles east contains the graves of thirty six aircrew killed before the battle, and one unidentified soldier. Not all of the Allied dead from the Battle of Arnhem are interred at the cemetery. Some 300 men who were killed when flying into battle, while trying to escape or who succumbed to wounds later, are buried in civilian cemeteries in the Netherlands, Belgium
, the UK and the USA. Sixty men who died in prisoner of war
camps after the battle are buried in Germany.
and returned to Arnhem to take part in filming for the war movie Theirs Is the Glory
. While there they attended the first commemorative event at the cemetery. This event continued every year, and was attended by veterans, local residents and over 1000 school children who laid flowers on the graves of the dead. After the 25th anniversary in 1969, the Parachute Regiment approached Dutch organisers to suggest ending the ceremony, believing the battle to have passed sufficiently into history. The Dutch were vehemently and emotionally opposed to the idea and thus the ceremony continues to be held annually.
Oosterbeek
Oosterbeek is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Renkum, about 5 km west of Arnhem.The oldest part of the village of Oosterbeek is the Benedendorp , on the northern bank of the river Rhine...
, Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. It was established in 1945 and is home to 1759 graves from the Second World War. Most of the men buried in the cemetery were Allied servicemen killed in the Battle of Arnhem
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a famous Second World War military engagement fought in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Wolfheze, Driel and the surrounding countryside from 17–26 September 1944....
, an Allied attempt to cross the Rhine in 1944, or in the liberation of the city
Liberation of Arnhem
Operation Anger , was a military operation to seize the city of Arnhem in April 1945, during the closing stages of the Second World War. It is occasionally referred to as the Second Battle of Arnhem or the Liberation of Arnhem...
the following year. Men killed in these battles are still discovered in the surrounding area even in the 21st century, and so the number of people interred in the cemetery continues to grow.
Background
In September 1944 the Allies launched Operation Market GardenOperation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
, an attempt by the British 2nd Army to bypass the Siegfried Line
Siegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
and advance into the Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
, Germany’s industrial heartland. The operation required the 1st Airborne Corps to seize several bridges over rivers and canals in the Netherlands, allowing ground forces to advance rapidly through the Netherlands and cross the River Rhine.
The British 1st Airborne Division
British 1st Airborne Division
The 1st Airborne Division was a division of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The division was formed in 1941, after British Prime Minister Winston Churchill demanded an airborne force...
was tasked with securing the most distant objectives; bridges over the Lower Rhine
Lower Rhine
The Lower Rhine flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hoek van Holland, Netherlands.Almost immediately after entering the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into many branches. The main branch is called the Waal which flows from Nijmegen to meet the river Meuse; after which it is called Merwede...
at Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
. The division dropped onto the area on 17 September and a small force was able to secure the Arnhem road bridge. However the unexpected presence of SS Panzer troops of the II SS Panzerkorps meant the Allies were never able to fully secure their objectives and so after nine days without sufficient reinforcement by the advancing ground forces, the division was withdrawn
Operation Berlin (Arnhem rescue)
Operation Berlin was a night-time evacuation of paratroopers of the British 1st Airborne Division trapped in German occupied territory north of the Lower Rhine in the Netherlands. The aim of the operation was to safely withdraw the remnants of the division who were surrounded on three sides by...
on September 25.
In the 9 days of battle almost 2000 Allied soldiers were killed (some of whom died of their wounds or in captivity after the battle). These included over 1174 men of the British 1st Airborne Division, 219 men of the Glider Pilot Regiment
Glider Pilot Regiment
The Glider Pilot Regiment was a British airborne forces unit of the Second World War which was responsible for crewing the British Army's military gliders and saw action in the European Theatre of World War II in support of Allied airborne operations...
, 92 men of the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
The 1st Independent Parachute Brigade was a parachute brigade under command of Maj.Gen. Stanisław Sosabowski, created in Scotland in September 1941, with the exclusive mission to drop into occupied Poland in order to help liberate the country. The British government, however, pressured the Polish...
, 368 men of the RAF, 79 re-supply dispatchers of the RASC
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
, 25 men of XXX Corps and 27 men of US IX Troop Carrier Command
IX Troop Carrier Command
The IX Troop Carrier Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946...
. The exact number of German dead is unknown, but is believed to be at least 1300. Additionally it is believed 453 Dutch civilians were killed during the battle.
Cemetery
Owing to the Allied withdrawal, the vast majority of their dead had to be left on the battlefield. Here they were buried in simple field graves (some little more than their own slit trenches) or in small mass graveMass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
s dug by the Germans. Kate Ter Horst
Kate ter Horst
Kate ter Horst MBE was a Dutch full-time housewife and mother who tended wounded and dying Allied soldiers during the Battle of Arnhem. Her British patients nicknamed her the Angel of Arnhem.Ter Horst was born Kate Anna Arriëns, daughter of Pieter Albert Arriëns and Catharina Maingay...
, whose house was used as a first aid post during the battle, found the graves of 57 men in her garden when she returned after the war. After Arnhem was liberated
Liberation of Arnhem
Operation Anger , was a military operation to seize the city of Arnhem in April 1945, during the closing stages of the Second World War. It is occasionally referred to as the Second Battle of Arnhem or the Liberation of Arnhem...
in April 1945, Grave Registration Units of the British 2nd Army moved into the area and began to locate the Allied dead. A small field north of Oosterbeek was offered on perpetual loan by the Netherlands government to the Imperial War Graves Commission in June 1945 and the dead were reburied there. Many of those killed during Arnhem's liberation were also buried at the same site. The cemetery was completed in February 1946, originally with the graves marked by metal crosses, although these were replaced by headstone
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...
s in 1952. Most of the German dead were buried in the SS Heroes Cemetery near Arnhem after the battle, but reburied in Ysselsteyn
Ysselsteyn
Ysselsteyn is a small village in the municipality of Venray in Limburg, Netherlands. It was established in 1921 and named after its designer, Hendrik Albert van IJsselsteyn, then Minister of Agriculture....
after the war.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records 1759 graves in the cemetery as of 2004. 1432 of these are Commonwealth, including British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealanders. The cemetery is also the last resting place of 73 Polish soldiers, (many of them exhumed and moved from Driel, to the disappointment of Driel's residents) and 8 Dutch civilians - some killed in the fighting and some former Commission employees. 253 of the graves are unidentified.
As of 2003 there were still 138 Allied men with no known grave in the area, and they are commemorated at the Groesbeek Memorial. However, evidence of the battle is often discovered even today, and the bodies of Allied servicemen are reinterred at the Airborne Cemetery. When found, bodies are exhumed and Dutch Graves Registration staff attempt to identify them before they are reburied. One soldier of the Border Regiment
Border Regiment
The Border Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 34th Regiment of Foot and the 55th Regiment of Foot....
was discovered and reburied in the cemetery in 2005 and another who had previously been unidentified was reburied in 2006.
Five men were awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
after the battle, four of them posthumously. Three of the men now rest in the cemetery; Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
John Hollington Grayburn
John Hollington Grayburn
John "Jack" Hollington Grayburn VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
of the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment; Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
David Samuel Anthony Lord
David Lord
David Samuel Anthony Lord VC, DFC was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
of 271 Squadron
No. 271 Squadron RAF
No. 271 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was operational for two periods; a few brief months between 27 September 1918 and 9 December 1918 operating flying boats to protect shipping from German U-boats, and between 28 March 1940 and 1 December 1946 No. 271 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was...
, Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and Captain Lionel Ernest Queripel
Lionel Ernest Queripel
Lionel Ernest Queripel VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
of the 10th Battalion, Parachute Regiment. Lance-Sergeant John Daniel Baskeyfield of the 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment
South Staffordshire Regiment
The South Staffordshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 38th Regiment of Foot and the 80th Regiment of Foot. In 1959 the regiment was amlagamated with the North Staffordshire Regiment to form the Staffordshire Regiment...
has no known grave and is commemorated instead at Groesbeek Memorial. Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Robert Henry Cain
Robert Henry Cain
Major Robert Henry Cain VC was a Manx recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, also of 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, survived the battle and was buried on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
when he died in 1974.
Opposite the Airborne Cemetery is a civilian graveyard with a small Commonwealth War Graves Commission plot containing the graves of nine airmen shot down shortly before the battle. It is also home to Lipmann Kessel
Lipmann Kessel
Alexander Lipmann-Kessel, MBE, MC, FRCS , was a famous orthopaedic surgeon, often known by his nickname of Lippy. Born in Pretoria, South Africa, he was involved at the Battle of Arnhem where at the time he was a Captain in the RAMC, and is credited with saving the life of Brigadier Hackett when...
, a surgeon with the 16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
The 16th Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The unit was the first parachute field ambulance unit of the British Army. Their first deployment was in Operation Torch the Allied landings in North Africa. This was followed...
during the battle, who wished to be buried near his men after his death in 1986. Similarly, the Moscowa Cemetery three miles east contains the graves of thirty six aircrew killed before the battle, and one unidentified soldier. Not all of the Allied dead from the Battle of Arnhem are interred at the cemetery. Some 300 men who were killed when flying into battle, while trying to escape or who succumbed to wounds later, are buried in civilian cemeteries in the Netherlands, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the UK and the USA. Sixty men who died in prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camps after the battle are buried in Germany.
Airborne commemoration service
In the summer of 1945 several hundred veterans of the battle were detached from operations in NorwayOperation Doomsday
In Operation Doomsday, the British 1st Airborne Division acted as a police and military force during the Allied occupation of Norway in May 1945, immediately after the victory in Europe during the Second World War. The division maintained law and order until the arrival of the remainder of Force...
and returned to Arnhem to take part in filming for the war movie Theirs Is the Glory
Theirs is the Glory
Theirs Is the Glory , a Rank production, is a 1946 British film about the British Airborne element of the World War II Operation Market Garden, and specifically the Battle of Arnhem. It was the first film to be made about this battle, and the biggest grossing war movie for nearly a decade...
. While there they attended the first commemorative event at the cemetery. This event continued every year, and was attended by veterans, local residents and over 1000 school children who laid flowers on the graves of the dead. After the 25th anniversary in 1969, the Parachute Regiment approached Dutch organisers to suggest ending the ceremony, believing the battle to have passed sufficiently into history. The Dutch were vehemently and emotionally opposed to the idea and thus the ceremony continues to be held annually.
See also
- Airborne Museum The nearby museum about the battle.
- Airborne MarchAirborne MarchThe Airborne March is an annual Dutch commemorative event of remembrance that began in 1947 and takes place on the first Saturday in September at Oosterbeek near Arnhem in the Netherlands...
The annual commemorative march around Arnhem.
External links
- Airborne Cemetery A collection of historic images of the cemetery.
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission The CWGC Page for the cemetery.
- Market Garden The Digital Monument The Official Roll of Honour of Allied dead at Arnhem.
- Market Garden Info Program of the annual commemorative events.