Many Polish soldiers lie buried at Oosterbeek.

A row of their distinctive pointed headstones is to the right here:-

Similar rows flank the entrance buildings:-

A Liczner, 3 Baon Spad, 27/9/1944:-

E Morchonowicz, 3 Baon Spad, 23/9/1944:-

A Polish Member of the Parachute Regiment, Private F P Dobrozyski, 19/9/1944, age 26:-

I couldn’t visit Arnhem without going to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery near Oosterbeek, the place where many casualties of the attempt to capture the John Frost Bridge during Operation Market Garden are buried.

The cemetery is in a quiet location off a side road up a side road.

The path from the car park takes you past the cemetery identifier:-

Beside that is this domed pillar marking local children’s annual commemoration of the battle:-

This plaque beside the entrance informs us that 1754 soldiers or airmen are buried within:-

War Graves Commission information board. More than 90 Polish members of the Parachute Brigade are buried here. I also noted three Dutch graves while walking round:-

View of cemetery from gates, Stone of Remembrance to fore and Cross of Sacrifice behind:-

Cross of Sacrifice. British poppy wreaths with Netherlands wreath on grass:-

As in most Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries the gates are flanked by two buildings which usually contain lists of the buried and the locations within the cemetery of their graves:-

On the wall of one of these were two plaques describing the Arnhem Battle and its place within the wider campaign to liberate Western Europe:-

Industrial building near River Rhine. Could be 1950s or 1960s but the tower and porthole windows are deco features:-

More modern Deco styling:-

In city centre. Note balconies:-

Detail from top balcony above. Nice gate, but it seems to access only a drop:-

Horizontals, verticals and curves on Zara’s premises:-

Stadstheater. Grand Art Deco style:-

Airborne Plein, Arnhem is a plaza situated in an area below a roundabout. It is approached by underpasses:-

At its centre is a memorial to the Battle of Arnhem in 1944:-

The wall behind, the Bridge to the Future, commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem:-

Public sculpture seems to be a feature of The Netherlands. This sculpture lay to the east of John Frost Bridge:-

Just to the northeast of the bridge this building had a model cow on its roof:-

Closer View:-

This building was very 1950s-60s in style:-

An impressive looking church in Arnhem:-

The museum is known as Airborne at the Bridge. We’d have liked to go into it but the door was locked. According to the website it is open from 10.00 to 17.00:-

A steel monument to the Resistance lay to the right of the scene pictured above. The inscription reads, “most people remain silent, but a few take action.”

Side view. River Rhine and John Frost Bridge in background:-

“With respect for the past and with an eye to the future, this reminder of the resistance in Arnhem, 1940-1945”:-

Near the Airborne Monument at Arnhem is this marker of the trail of the Alied Armies which liberated western Europe in 1944-5:-

Information on board above:-

Memorial to Jacob-Groenewoud. The area around the Airborne Monument is now known as Jacob-Groenewoud Platsoen (Jacob-Groenewoud Park) after the only Dutch officer involve din the fighting for the Rhine Bridge:-

John Frost Bridge Monument, Arnhem. Airborne Monument in background:-

Information on John Frost Bridge Monument:-

This is by the River Rhine near the John Frost Bridge and consists of an artillery piece plus a photo of the original Rhine Bridge:-

Dedication:-

Commemoration plaques:-

Photo of original Rhine Bridge:-

John Frostbrug in Dutch, this is the famous bridge too far, except it’s a replacement for the original Rhine Bridge fought over in the Second World War during Operation Market Garden. It’s somewhere in The Netherlands I’ve always wanted to visit.

I must say the River Rhine looks not very wide here – not as wide as the Clyde at Dumbarton certainly. Still an obstacle to an army though:-

Eastern guard post. Slight Deco styling.  I assume this is original:-

Western guard post. Note groove up the middle of steps, for wheeling bicycles up and down.:-

Reverse view of bridge:-

Roadway:-

Commemorative plaque with inscription to John Frost by roadway on north side of bridge:-

This week’s entry for Judith’s meme from Reader in the Wilderness now hosted by Katrina at Pining for the West.

This is the top shelf of the bookcase I featured on 26/7/20.

A lot of these are from Pan’s ‘British Battles’ series, spanning a chronology from The Spanish Armada to Arnhem, but also there are The Price of Glory and To Lose a Battle from Alastair Horne’s trilogy about Franco-German hostilities between 1870 and 1945. (His The Fall of Paris is on the shelf below.) Here too you’ll find Thomas Pakenham’s The Year of Liberty and Desmond Young’s Rommel.