On Sunday 19 May 2019 we were at the theme day of the Friends of the Airborne Museum (VVAM). The theme was "The Glider Pilot Regiment". In the morning we visited the Glider Collection at Wolfheze. In the afternoon Luuk Buist, authority in the field of the Battle of Arnhem and specialist in the field of The Glider Pilot Regiment, gave a lecturede. He is co-author of the book "Glider Pilots at Arnhem". We brought or copy of that book with us, in which he has placed his signature.
 
De gliders in the Battle of Arnhem
 
During the Second World War, gliders were used by the Allies for the rapid supply of units, together with support equipment. The British and Poles during the Battle of Arnhem used the Airspeed Horsa glider carrying 6-pounder and 17-pounder cannons, jeeps and bren carriers.

A replica of a Horsa glider at the Pegasus Memorial in Ranville, Normandy.

 
Glider Collection Wolfheze
 
First we visited the Glider Collection of Paul Hendriks at the campsite in Wolfheze. Easy to find, because the road to the entrance is not to be missed at that monument with the glider. Via the open barrier we arrived at the building where the collection can be seen. By the way, this is not our first visit. Several times we have looked at the collection, which can already be seen at visited war museums on ARS Website. We got a warm welcome with delicious coffee and syrup waffle. And then we were immersed in the ins and outs of the glider.

My wife Elly at the entrance to Glider Collection Wolfheze.
Collector Paul Hendriks is the initiator of this museum and knows a lot about the gliders that landed here in September 1944. Paul has collected a lot of material, such as the part of the fuselage of a British Horsa in which Miss Starkie lived.

Hull part of a British Britse Horsa where miss Starkie lived.
My wife Elly also finds it very interesting to see the Glider Collection.
The organizer of battlefield tours for the VVAM, Erik Jellema, closely examines the detailed aerial photograph of the operation site of Operation Neptune.
 
Lecture Luuk Buist: The Glider Pilot Regiment in the Battle of Arnhem
 
In the afternoon Luuk Buist, authority in the field of the Battle of Arnhem and specialist in the field of The Glider Pilot Regiment and co-author of the book "Glider Pilots at Arnhem", gives a lecture on the subject "The Glider Pilot Regiment in the Battle of Arnhem". Unlike the glider pilots at the American Troop Carrier Command, the British Glider Pilots were trained as "Total Soldiers". This meant that after landing they could participate as full infantrymen in the fights. Some were given the task of providing security for the loads they were carrying, such as Anti Tank guns or the howitzers of the Light Regiment Royal Artillery. Others were gathered under the command of their Glider Wing and participated fully in the fighting. We get insight in the organization of the 1st and 2nd Wing with their different Squadrons and at which airports in England they were stationed. Further we see which Squadrons units were transported to the Landing Zones near Heelsum and Wolfheze. It is told how this logistic operation was organized by allocating parts of the Landing Zones (LZ) to the different units, the Tactical Landing. The experiences of individual Glider Pilots are also discussed, such as Louis Hagen.
The British Glider Pilots were not only pilots, but also "Total Soldiers". They did more than ground Gliders and put white tape on the ground for the operation in Berlin. They actively participated in the fights around Arnhem and Oosterbeek. We get to see an impressive presentation, in which in fact the whole Battle of Arnhem is treated by means of maps and animations. And finally the evacuation from the Oosterbeek perimeter over the Rhine, in operation Berlin on Monday evening 25 September 1944.