Last survivor..Bridge Too Far hero dies, 101
BRITAIN’S last veteran from a battalion that parachuted into the Battle of Arnhem has died, just days before his 102nd birthday.
Victor Gregg was one of 582 to land 64 miles behind enemy lines with the 10th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment as over 30,000
Allied airborne troops fought to seize eight bridges from the Nazis in September 1944.
But only 36 from the battalion returned from Holland – the rest were either killed or captured in a mission dubbed A Bridge Too Far.
Of the British, US and
Polish soldiers parachuted in as part of Operation Market Garden, more than 15,000 were killed, captured or wounded.
Victor, who would have been 102 on Friday, recalled: “As we approached the drop zone I think we were all quietly anxious. The Germans were firing at us and as we jumped some chaps were shot dead in the sky, it was awful…The days that followed were horrendous, we quickly ran out of ammunition and food and were forced to take supplies from those who had passed away… By day six my two mates on the gun with me were dead, we were out of ammunition and finally captured and taken off to a prisoner of war camp.We did our best.”
Victor lived in Winchester, Hants, before moving to a care home.
Alec Wilson, head of Friends of the Tenth Association which honours the 10th Battalion, said: “To the best of our knowledge, Vic is the ‘Last Man Standing’ of the Wartime Tenth. It seems that, after almost 80 years, the final chapter of this legendary battalion has now been written. RIP brave warrior, stand down, your duty done.”