September 2024 marks the 80th Anniversary of Operation Market Garden made famous by the 1977 film “A Bridge too Far”, where members of the Province of Guernsey and Alderney and vehicle enthusiasts combined their interests in WW2 vehicles, decided to mark the commemoration of the battle by transporting their WW2 British armoured vehicles to Leopoldsburg in Belgium, they were joined on the trip by Dorset Freemason Stuart Allan of Montague No.665 and Kent Freemason Robert Davies from City of Rochester Lodge No.7941
The two-week trip saw them joined by approximately 300 other WW2 British Vehicles predominantly armoured, who spent two weeks on “Hells Highway” all the way up to Bemmel covering the 64 Miles which were all behind enemy lines in September 1944 which saw four Airbourne Divisions parachuted in to capture all the major bridges between the Belgium border and Arnhem.
XXX Corp with their 20,000 vehicles pushed a spearhead towards Germany on a single highway the Operations aim was to see the war ended by Christmas 1944, sadly the Germans overran the British first Airborne Division at Arnhem and this halted the British advance and delayed the push into Germany and the final end of the war in Europe.
Photographed here is Eight of the brethren that where part of E Squadron taken at Son en Breugel, part way through the tour.
The Brethren took plenty of time to meet the public enjoy the company of fellow enthusiasts and lay commemorative wreaths at various locations along the route to remember those who paid the ultimate price for the freedom we enjoy today.
