American wartime pilot's grand-daughter visits paratroopers' memorial

Laura Briggs holds a framed print of Derek Chambers' ‘The Last Stand', presented to her by FOTT chairman Alec Wilson at the 10th Battalion Memorial at Burrough-on-the-Hill

Laura Briggs brought her family with her to England to retrace the steps taken 79 years ago by Captain Melucas, of the United States Air Force 34 Squadron, 313 Troop Carrier Group.

He was one of the brave pilots who dropped members of the 10th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, into the Battle of Arnhem, in Holland, in September 1944, 64 miles behind enemy lines.

Laura, accompanied by her husband, Lowell, and son, Liam, started their journey by visiting RAF Spanhoe, the airfield in Northamptonshire where her grandfather’s squadron were stationed during the Second World War, and from where the 10th Battalion flew from en route to the Arnhem battle, which was codenamed Operation Market Garden.

Laura's grandfather, Captain Paul Melucas, of 34 Squadron, 315 Troop Carrier Group USAF (left) and British paras loading aircraft at RAF Spanhoe in 1944

Just 36 of the 582 members of The 10thwho were dropped into Arnhem returned two weeks later to their billets at Burrough-on-the-Hill and Somerby.

Alec Wilson, chair of the Friends of the Tenth (FOTT), met Laura and her family at Spanhoe and then escorted them to the striking memorial to the 10th Battalion, at Burrough, which FOTT campaigned to install.

Laura described her visit had been ‘incredible and beyond my dreams’.

She added: “Good friends, military family members, the 315th airfield, the Tenth Memorial, the beautiful town of Somerby, the lovely All Saints Church, and great weather. What more can anyone ever want?”

FOTT chair, Alec Wilson, explains the scenes engraved on the Burrough memorial to Laura Briggs, her husband Lowell and son Liam

At the memorial, Alec gave Laura a full brief on the 10th Battalion characters depicted on the memorial, including Myrtle the hen.

Before the party left for All Saints Church, in Somerby, he presented her with a bespoke signed print of the ‘The Last Stand’ which was painted by Derek Chambers and which depicts the courage of members of the 10th Battalion during Operation Market Garden and the Battle of Arnhem.

When Laura returns to America, she will be jointly raising funds with FOTT to provide a permanent memorial to her grandfather’s 34 Squadron, 315 Troop Carrier Group, to be placed alongside the existing 10th Battalion Memorial.