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Remembering the forgotten sailors of Arnhem
17 September 2024
Today we remember possibly the only sailor killed at Arnhem – 80 years to the day of the largest airborne assault in history.
Air Mechanic Leonard Augustus Hooker is the only Senior Serviceman buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Oosterbeek – the principal resting place for Allied servicemen killed in September 1944 trying to seize the bridge over the Rhine.
The eight-day Operation Market Garden sought to bring the war in western Europe to an end in 1944 by opening a route into Germany’s industrial heartland of the Rhine and Ruhr valleys by capturing a series of key river crossings, the last at Arnhem in the Netherlands.
Despite the bravery of the Allied forces, the operation fell short of its goal and Arnhem proved to be ‘a bridge too far’ – as the later book and Hollywood blockbuster were named.
Although Arnhem is largely seen as an air/land battle (Market was the codename for the aerial assault, Garden for the ground forces) and the parachute/glider landings in particular rightly commemorated, there were a small number of Royal Navy personnel supporting the abortive operation.
Andrew Batten, who’s served in both the Royal Navy and RAF and now works as a civilian at RAF Brize Norton, has delved into the history of the battle and says though small in number, sailors played their part in the epic.
“The Royal Air Force were stretched and were loaned Fleet Air Arm mechanics to help service their aircraft,” he explains.
“Subsequently some of these mechanics volunteered to assist the Royal Army Service Corps in despatching supplies to the 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem.“
Among them was 23-year-old Leonard Augustus Hooker, an Air Mechanic 2nd Class from West Drayton, serving at HMS Daedalus.
On the third day of the battle, Hooker joined a Stirling Mk IV four-engine bomber from 196 Squadron flying a resupply missions for the troops dropped at Arnhem.
He was due to assist two Air Despatchers – in charge of the cargo – from the 63rd Airborne Divisional Composite Company but never had the opportunity.
The Stirling was hit by flak that Tuesday afternoon, September 17 1944, and caught fire. Due to the flames, Hooker was unable to reach his parachute and died with six colleagues; three men managed to bail out.
As with all the graves at Oosterbeek – which lies about five miles west of Arnhem and served as the focal point for much of the fighting away from the Rhine bridge – Leonard Hooker’s has been adopted by a Dutch family.
Although it’s the only naval grave in the cemetery, Andrew says that’s not the end of the Royal Navy involvement in Market Garden.
“During the operation Sailors were present at RAF bases where gliders were flown from. They were used to splice and repair the glider tow ropes.,” he adds.
“There is anecdotal evidence that there were at least two other Royal Naval personnel flying with the RAF and the air dispatchers.
“One veteran, John Bellamy, recounts meeting a Royal Navy lieutenant who flew as an unofficial despatcher, was shot down and taken prisoner of war.”
And author/historian Sir Antony Beevor says the Germans were baffled by the sight of one Royal Navy sailor captured at Arnhem alongside the remnants of 10th Parachute Battalion.
He had joined a transporter to help drop supplies. It was shot down, but the sailor succeeded in bailing out, then joined the Paras on the ground. The Germans who captured him thought he was French because of his blue uniform.
Failure of Market Garden cost the Allies around 17,000 casualties and effectively ended large-scale offensive operations on the Western Front until the Rhine was forced in March 1945.