Market Garden: WWII operation that could have ended the war remembered 79 years on

The sacrifice of British and Polish airborne soldiers who fought during Operation Market Garden has been honoured in Colchester.

More than 1,500 British soldiers were killed at Arnhem and nearly 6,500 were captured, while five Victoria Crosses were awarded.

The objective of the Second World War operation in the Netherlands was to break into Germany through a combined airborne and armoured advance, which could have potentially ended the war by the end of the year.

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The service of commemoration was organised by Colchester-based 16 Air Assault Brigade and Colchester City Council and marked the 79th anniversary of the operation in September 1944.

The service was themed around the experiences of Sergeant Eric 'Herbie' Atkinson, a gunner in the 1st Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery Royal Artillery.

When flying to Arnhem, the glider he was in crashed short of the objective, but he was rescued by the Dutch resistance.

After the war, he met one of his rescuers, Jac van Someren who had become an artist.

The Dutch resistance fighter had got in contact with Sgt Atkinson to present him with a sculpture.

Called Verwondering (Astonishment), it shows a woman looking up at the sky to see all the planes and gliders flying to Arnhem, representing the hope of liberation.

During the ceremony, pupils from local primary schools laid sunflowers, grown by local charity Abberton Rural Training, at the War Memorial, replicating what Dutch children do at the main commemoration service at Oosterbeek cemetery in the Netherlands.

Both Mr Van Someren and Sgt Atkinson have since passed away, with Sgt Atkinson's family having donated the sculpture to The Minories gallery in Colchester to go on display in the city that is now home to airborne forces.

Sergeant Sam Gosling, of 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, said: "The history of airborne forces is very important to us because the achievements of the past set the standards expected of today’s soldiers.

"For me as a sergeant in an airborne artillery unit, the same as Sgt Atkinson, it has been humbling for me to learn about the experiences a soldier in my position went through in the Second World War."