Para Veteran Unveils Operation Market Garden Monument In Arnhem

The Dutch city of Arnhem has been commemorating the 75th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, which sought to capture a strategic bridge over the Rhine.

As part of the commemorations, a Para veteran has unveiled a six-metre-high sculpture.

The landmark 'Window To The Past' remembers 18 September 1944, when 120 Dakotas dropped more than 19,000 parachutists and approximately 400 containers in 'Dropzone Y'.

John Jeffries was a member of the Royal Corps of Signals and, on that day, he jumped out of the plane above Ginkel Heath.

"There was fog - they wouldn't allow us to fly because there was fog for three hours," the veteran said.

"We were sat in that plane and when they gave us the all-clear, everybody was so pleased to get out.

"We wanted to get going to sort out what was happening.

"It's a pleasure to come back, but the pleasure is kind of quietened down when we see all the graves."