World War Two heroes finally laid to rest 80 years after bold but doomed operation

Two heroes killed in the Second World War 80 years ago were finally laid to rest yesterday. Glider pilot Lieutenant Dermod Anderson, who was 36, and Private Henry Moon, 21, were buried at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Arnhem Oosterbeek cemetery in the Netherlands. Both men were killed during the crucial Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands in September 1944.

More than 250 people attended yesterday, including many locals. Lt Anderson’s great-nephew Lt Col Julian Anderson was among them. Lt Col Anderson, who is with Nato’s Joint Support and Enabling Command, based in Ulm, Germany, told the Mirror[1] in an exclusive interview: “When they found his remains last year, they found his University of Liverpool tie put away in the pocket of his parachute smock.

That gave them a clue to his identity. He had studied architecture at Liverpool before the war. They gave me a call and said they may – may – have found his remains.”

“They asked for a DNA test. I gave them a cheek swab and they checked it with DNA from his left femur and it was a match. His body was first found by metal detectorists who were searching in the area.

Dermod was my great-uncle – my grandad’s brother. There was always a photo of him in the study when I was growing up.”

I’m a shopping expert and here’s ten gifts I’m tipping to be huge this Christmas[2]Lieutenant Colonel Julian Anderson, great nephew of Dermod Anderson (Philip Coburn)

“He was a glider pilot and officially listed as ‘missing’. He had always wanted to be a glider pilot but was originally turned down because he had ear problems.

But eventually they let him in. He was on Operation Overlord before being involved at Arnhem.” Lt Anderson, who joined up in 1992, said he later realised he had been within 50 metres of where his relative lay on one of four battlefield study trips to Arnhem.

He added: “It was a great honour to attend his funeral.” Private Moon’s niece Tina Snowden, 73, a retired teacher from Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, was at the funeral with her son David. She said: “I was actually born in Henry’s house in Yorkshire.

He was only 21 when he died. He was so young. It’s been wonderful that so many people have turned out for his funeral.

We found out last year some remains had been found and they found his rifle and a DNA match was made. Henry had three brothers Robert, John and Arthur – my dad. They didn’t really talk about him much.

I think it was a different generation thing.”

Around 250 people attended the ceremony (Philip Coburn)

The war heroes’ coffins were dressed in Union flags and carried by military bearer parties. Last Post was played and a volley of shots fired as both coffins were lowered into their graves. Private Moon was with the 7th Battalion The Green Howards (The Yorkshire Regiment).

Lt Anderson served with the Glider Pilot Regiment, Army Air Corps. Pte Moon, from Speeton, North Yorks, was an apprentice joiner before the war. His remains were found during roadworks for the widening of a motorway.

Lt Anderson worked as an assistant to renowned architect Sir Edwin Lutyens before being commissioned into the Gloucester regiment but he had always wanted to be a pilot. He successfully landed his glider near Arnhem but was later killed by a German mortar bomb in a trench. His remains were found in a field survey of a local churchyard.

As part of the special commemorations, the CWGC is organising a torch event across the region this week. The 200-mile “Path to Freedom” is an initiative marking the liberation of the Netherlands and Western Europe 80 years after Operation Market Garden, in which nearly 2,000 Allied soldiers lost their lives.

The soldiers were buried in the Airborne Cemetery in Oosterbeek, the Netherlands (Philip Coburn)

Director General Claire Horton said: “The Torch of Commemoration has proved to be a hugely successful way to educate younger people about what the Allies went through during their ordeal, and to ensure their legacy will never be forgotten. “The CWGC’s Arnhem Oosterbeek Cemetery has been a focal point of commemoration for the Battle of Arnhem since the end of the Second World War, with the sacrifice of over 1,500 wounded and killed.”

Among those also being remembered this week is Frank Bolton, killed in action on September 26, 1944. After being hit by friendly fire, Frank managed to steer his doomed aircraft away from the town of Gennep, saving many lives. Frank’s family first believed that parachute failure led to his death.

But years later they discovered witnesses telling of Frank climbing on to the wing and throwing his parachute high as he tried to bail out.

Sadly, he had been too low for his parachute to deploy safely and he was killed in the fall, his burning aircraft crashing into the River Meuse.

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References

1. ^ Mirror (www.mirror.co.uk)
2. ^ I’m a shopping expert and here’s ten gifts I’m tipping to be huge this Christmas (www.mirror.co.uk)
3. ^ Elizabeth Arden’s retinol cream delivers Botox-like results, claims delighted user (www.mirror.co.uk)