The families who continue to honour Melton’s wartime heroes

Paratroopers, billeted in the town, enjoyed themselves at dances at the old Corn Exchange, in Nottingham Street, and watching movies at The

Regal Cinema.

They were members of the 156 Battalion, based at Staveley Lodge, on Nottingham Road, and they mixed freely with young women from the Remount Depot, Land Army girls from local farms, and the Army NAAFI, leading to weddings, children and grandchildren in many cases.

Some of the romances were sadly cut short when many of the paratroopers did not return from their iconic drop into Holland for Operation Market Garden in the September of that year.

Survivors from the Battle of Arnhem have taken part in reunion memorial services for many years, at Saltby Airfield, where they were flown out from, and at Melton’s St Mary’s Church.

Most are now gone but their relatives and serving members of the Parachute Regiment and other armed forces continue to attend and keep their memories, and their sacrfices, alive.

The latest services were held on Friday and Saturday, 77 years on from Arnhem and 80 years since the Battalion was first formed, in Delhi, India, when it was initially named 151 Battalion.

It was one of the earliest parachute units in the British army, being formed a year before the Parachute Regiment, and represented a new form of warfare.

Casualties were high, however, with men exposed to ground fire as they descended into conflict - only 26 men were able to return to Melton from the dozens who had been dropped on to Ginkel Heath in Holland, and the under-strength battalion was disbanded shortly afterwards.

Many relatives of those brave paratroopers were in attendance for Friday’s Saltby Airfield service, which was hosted by the Buckminster Gliding Club who provided lunch.

There were trips along the runway provided by Paul Turner in his 1940s jeep and Air Marshall Philip Sturley, the ex-Base Commander at RAF Cottesmore, spoke of the special relationship that the paras have with the RAF who helped train them from the very early days up to the present day.

The service was conducted by Military Chaplain, the Rev Brian McAvoy, and wreaths were laid by Maj Sean Phillips, of 4th Parachute Battalion, and the Air Marshall at the airfield monument.

The annual dinner was held at the Sysonby Knoll Hotel, in Melton, later in the day.

Two of the grandsons of the original commanding officer, Lt Col Martin Lindsay, were present and serving Brigadier Robin Lindsay gave a stirring speech about the early days of the 151 who were very much the pioneers of this new kind of warfare.

He repeated the words spoken by his grandfather when addressing his men for the first time in Delhi: “From this time on you will no longer be like other soldiers. You will be special and will eventually be tougher, fitter and better trained.”

Rupert Hague-Holmes spoke about George Lea, the battalion adjutant in India.

George later when on to lead the SAS in the Malayan jungle and then in Borneo.

So successful was George that he won a DSO, was promoted to the rank of general and later knighted.

On Saturday morning, at St Mary’s Church, in Melton, another service was held by Chaplain McAvoy using the Bible which had been given to Maj Jeffrey Noble by the Red Cross whilst he was a prisoner of war.

Deputy Mayor of Melton, Councillor Alan Hewson, and Deputy Mayoress, his wife Jane - who both attended - had a personal interest in the battalion as the family farm at Eastwell near Melton had been used by the battalion for battlefield training in 1944.

Bagpiper, Bill James, piped Freda Kemp - the widow of veteran Lew Kemp - into the church as she was accompanied by James Pockney, the grandson of Lt Col Sir Richard des Voeux, the commanding officer at Arnhem who was killed in action.

The church was full of music in the form of hymns accompanied by organist James Gutteridge, as well as songs from World War Two sung by the Orston Choir, led by Astrid Moules.

Act of Remembrance, the Last Post and Reveille were sounded as the wreath was laid by Freda Kemp at the battalion’s memorial stones.

Speakers Niall Cherry and Martin Wenner elevated the occasion with their respective talks on the men of the 151 Parachute Battalion and Cpt Michael Wenner’s post-war diplomatic career.

Maj Sean Phillips talked about the importance of the Jordanian flat, which was presented to the battalion by The Emir of Transjordan in 1943 and carried by the battalion into battle.

Sgt John Gibbard, of the Leicester Parachute Regiment Association, spoke of Maj Jeffrey Noble’s Army service.

‘The Boy’, as he was nicknamed by his CO (due to his youthful looks), was given command of the battalion’s medium machine gun platoon, seeing action in Italy and in Arnhem.

Last year, when he passed away, it was not possible for members of the 156 family to be present at his funeral due to the pandemic, but he was remembered at this annual memorial service.

Following the traditional hymn of Abide With Me - which had been sung by the wounded survivors at Arnhem, the service closed with prayers and the National Anthem.

A gathering followed at the Harboro Hotel with an appropriately Indian-themed lunch, given the origins of the Battalion.