The 2nd South Staffordshires                
                                                   
                                     
                                                   
                                         
                                                   
                               
                                                   
The main attack on the upper road, by Lieutenant-Colonet Derek McCardie's battalion along in front of the St Elizabeth Hospital, started half an hour later, at 4.30 a.m. D Company led off, followed by B and A Company, with Battalion HQ there were about 340 men one of them was Frank Hargraves more on Him later. C Company were in reserve, and many of the support weapons were also in the rear because they could not be deployed in the darkness and in the urban surroundings in the battalion would fight its one only major battle at Arnhem. These were all glider-borne troops, but Lieutenant David Russell and four of his men who escaped when the 2nd Battalion's C Company had been taken prisoner the previous day voluntarily jointed in the attack, hoping it would enable them to rejoin their own battalion at the bridge, the 11th, ready to support the Staffords' attack. It was an eerie advance in the dark along that wide main road in front of the well-lit Hospital with a large Red Cross flag. No one could be quite sure where the Germans were, and the Staffords started nervously forward, taking cover where they could, behind garden walls, bushes, corners of buildings, lamp posted, trees. Long bursts of maichine- gun keap swishing along the road from ahead and across in the sides streets and passages on the left. It was a standard German tactic in the dark to fire such bursts at irregular intervals; they had plenty of ammunition. There were some Germans in the houses, even though this was not yet the main German front line, and the advance was several times held up by the opposition. Within half and hour, the leading company lost 40 per cent of its strenght in casualties in advancing about 300 yards to just past the hospital. Its commander, Major John Phillp, was shot through the stomach, and two other officers were killed, one of them, Captain 'Oscar' Wyss, described as last seen leading his men 'waving his walking stick and shouting, 'Come on, lads!'' as if it was only an exercise on Salisbury Plain.' B Company, meanwhile, had also become involved in the fighting. It would be led by Captian Reggie Foote until Major Robert Cain, whose glider had to force-land in England on the first day, came up later that morning.
                                                   
     
The Reason for the lack of further progess was that tanks were among the houses 150 yards ahead. Derek McCardie send the third of his companies forward ti consolidate the original gain and to provide a firm base for a possible future advance if the opposition ahead could be outflanked. This was Major T . B Lane's full strenght A Company. It men moved up, past the hospital and past the dead of the earlier attack, and took cover with Company HQ and one platoon in the museum itself and the other three platoons in and around houses on the other side of the road.
                               
                                                   
 
Here the battalion's attack stuck. It was now light, Mortar fire fell among the men who were in the open near the museum; Germans tanks came forward,almost to point-blank range when the supply of Piat bombs was exhausted, and started firing inot the museum and houses where most of A Company were sheltering. There was a stalemate, any attempts by the Staffords to show themselves at windows or to move in the open drawing instant fire. The Germans brought up a self-propelled guns and infantry ready to count-attack. Major Cain, who managed to join his company in and around a hollow in the slope outside the museum, later wrote an account of this period:
  
                       
                                                   
 

We found ourselves being attacked by tanks; this was between 9 and 10 in the morning. Our mortars were trying to engage the Germans who were far too close to them. The mortar officer was removing the secondart charges in order to reduce the range of the bombs, and they were shooting straight up in the air. Some tanks came in from the low road, between the river and the bulk of the town. They were firing with 88 mm guns up into the dell which we occupied. We had no anti-tank guns because we couldn't get them up the road, mainly because of the pelting fire was so heavy. We had, therefore, to use Piats to cope with the tanks. We held for two to three hours. Lieutenant Georges Dupenois was in action with his Piat and Jock Buchanan and I were drawing the fire and trying to get ammunition for Georges, which we did. When a tank appeared, we got four Brens firing on it with tracers. That shut the tank up, because the commander couldn't stand up in the turret. As soon as we let off the Piat at it, we'd move back, and then the German shells would explode below us. We were firing at 100 to 150 yards range. Dupenois fired about ten to twenty rounds. Once, instead of hitting a tank he hit a house with a Greek inscription on it which he read and which made him laugh. It was impossible to tell how many tanks there were and I don't think we ever disabled one, for we never saw the crew get out. All this lasted until about 11.30 a.m Then the Piat ammunition gave out. The tanks came up and were firing right into the dell and our men were just being killed one after another. I saw one of our men with his face showing, his eyes wide open. You could hear the call for 'Stretcher Bearer' all the time. There was no effective fire going back to those beasts because we had no more ammunition. The CO came up and told us to pull out of the dell, which was an absolute deathtrap. I remember seeing the wholeof a bush blown out of the ground while I was talking to him. I put a rearguard with a Canadian officer and a drozen men with Brens to cover the pull-out.. This was the South Staffs Waterloo..

Martin Middlebrook Arnhem 1944
                                                   
           
                               
                                                   
         
                                                   
 

The only other personal accounts available are from men who were in the museum. There were about forty of them in the building, mostly South Staffs, but also Lieutenant David Russell's 2nd Battalion party. He had been asked by the Staffs to take his party to the top of the building and to act as observers. They took up position in what must have been the caretaker's flat and were able to report various events and sometimes fire on the Germans, and they helped direct mortar fire outside already desribed by Major Cain. David Russell describes how the end came about:

I suppose it was about mid-morning when I saw the outlines of a large tank through the garden gate. I warned the company commander, who send a Piat forward to cover the road; we stayed upstairs.The tank milled around, treating the world in general to bursts of MG and big wallops of gunfire. We were, as yet untouched. More tanks appeared to have arrived, as there was now gunfire from the bottom road up into the gully and another was reported on the top road. The Piat scored a hit on the extra armour of one tank, but failed to put it out of action. An assault gun moved slowly along the top road, blowing to pieces and setting on fire all the houses around the museum. Up came another tank in our rear and started on our building, the first two rounds taking off the living room which we had just left. I had a quick conference at the foot of the stairs with the Stafford's company commander and the other officers; the ground floor was full of wounded. Were we to flight on with small arms against tanks, try to break out, or surrender? We decided that was our object- to join those fighting at the bridge- was impossible and as the building was systematically demolished and there was nowhere to break out to, we should surrender. I chucked my Sten over the hedge, buried my pristol, walked out with a handkerchief.

Martin Middlebrook Arnhem 1944

Sergeant Norman Howes was a platoon sergeant of the Staffords platoon at the museum

I went downstairs to check on the ammo supply and spoke with CSM Vic Williams. I can remember some tanks and mortar fire, but nothing very local, so it was with somewhat casual air that I remounted the wooded steps to the first floor to my platoon position. You might imagine my shock on seeing,instead of my platoon.German troops, two of them facing me as I entered the room, each with rifles in hand. I could see others in the backfround. I weighed up the odds and threw myself back down the steps. At the bottow was an upright piano and, guessing what was following, I got down behind it. At least one grenade was thrown, and the two Germans then came down the steps to check me out.I shot first; I am not sure if I hit the second as he got on the steps. I shouted to the Dutch poeple who were there that the Germans were in the building and reported to CSM Williams in the corridor. Things were getting very noisy by this time, with tank shellfire being directed at the sides of the building and, it seemed; non-stop MG fire. About six of or men then came running back down the corridor-all unarmed. I stopped them and sent them to the exit, to Regimental Aid Post to collect arms and ammunition discarded by the wounded.I followed them. It was a maelstrom of confusion and noise. At the aid post,with the wounded and the dead,was the padre, Captain Buchanan; he saw me stopping there and shouted, 'Not here, sergeant; we have wounded.'

The end was night.The Germans self-propelled guns were able to roam at will once the Stafford's Piat ammunition was exhausted. Infantry had entered the museum through a breach in the walls. One of the houses occupied by an A Company platoon was ablaze, though the men inside were still fighting from the unburnt part of the house. Lieutenant-Colonet McCardie had authorized B Company to retire from the exposed area of open, but only Major Cain and a few men managed to get away. A Company started to surrender in increasing numbers as the tanks got among them; Battalion HQ was also overrun. After his return from a prison camp in 1945, Derek McCardie wrote to Major Cain:

I still can't believe that I was taken prisoner. It was a thing I had vowed should never happen. I was trying to get A Company, to find out why the hell they weren't shooting at those tanks,and I suppose that something must have fired at me. At any rate, I found myself under about two feet of earth with two Germans pointing Schmeissers at me.

Martin Middlebrook Arnhem 1944

Large numbers of men became prisoners.The Medical Officer, Captain Brain Brownscombe, and possibly Padre Buchanan, managed to get to St Elizabeth Hospital,where they continued their work; but of the other officers only Major Cain managed to get away. Only Sergeant Jim Drew wrote about what happened:

A vehicle came up and down the street with a loud hailer shouting 'Come out, you South Staffords, with your hands up. You are surrounded, and there is no way out.' We stayed in the cellar,where the firing was now heavy. Eventually the cellar was kicked open, and a German threw an object on the cellar floor. We jumped to the other side, expecting a grenade to explode. After several minutes I looked and saw that it was a house brick. He was, indeed the finest German that I had never met. We were taken prisoner of war.

Now I can turn to Frank Hargrave who sadly passed away this year in September.. I saw Frank about 2 years ago then he was flying a model Dakota and Horsa glider he was in The South Staffords and yes he made it to The Museum and was taken Prisoner like most in what I have just said.. But after that he checked himself over only to find that his webbing had two bullet holes in the front... Frank for any years would not talk about Arnhem and the Very bitter fighting that want on it was only his son that asked him one day.. So we had a long chat about this battle and what maybe could have been done.. Frank made a video for me, on it are 'Arnhem The Official Story, We'll see you in September, Silently to War, and Baskeyfield VC Plaque. I watched this and to my surprise it was Frank that uncovered Lance-Sergeant John Baskeyfield's Plaque He also signed my copy of Martin Middlebrook's Arnhem 1944..

For

You

Frank

And Them All
 
 

Sergeant Stan Wright HQ Company Signals Platoon 4913782 POW more information will be added shortly. Photo used with Family Permission.

 

 
                     
       
Private Frank Hardgrave, Defence Platoon Company HQ and bodyguard to the Reverend Buchanan. 7013354 POW at St.4d, 89576. Photo care of By Land Sea and Air
             
                                                   
                   
   
My Signed book. I asked Frank to Sign for me when I saw him some 3 years ago..
                                                   
           
     
The South Staffords pin at the Modern art museum which in the war was The Arnhem Municipal Museum