John Hollington Grayburn
Encyclopedia
John "Jack" Hollington Grayburn VC
(30 January 1918 – 20 September 1944) was an English
recipient of the Victoria Cross
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
and Commonwealth
forces.
Born in 1918, Grayburn was educated in Dorset
and joined the Army Cadet Force
before the outbreak of the Second World War. He was initially commissioned into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
and later joined the Parachute Regiment. At the age of 26 he went into action in the Battle of Arnhem
where he was part of the small force that was able to reach Arnhem road bridge. Between 17–20 September he led his platoon, and later the remnants of a battalion, in the defence of the small British perimeter around the bridge, but was killed after standing up in full view of a German tank in order to direct his men to new positions.
Grayburn is buried in the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery
, and his Victoria Cross is displayed at the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum
in England.
, the son of Lionel and Gertrude Grayburn. The family returned to England whilst he was young, and he was educated at Sherborne School
in Dorset
.
He played rugby
for the Chiltern Rugby Club
between 1927 and 1939 and was a skilled boxer.
Grayburn joined the Army Cadet Force
and was posted to the 1st (London) Cadet Force, The Queen's Royal Regiment. In September 1940 he was given an emergency commission to second lieutenant
and was posted to the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
.
in 1942 and married Marcelle Chambers, with whom he had a son, in the same year. However, the Ox and Bucks remained on the home front
and Grayburn became bored with the inactivity. Instead he applied to the Parachute Regiment and in June 1943 he was transferred to the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion
. The following year he was transferred to the regiment's 2nd Battalion
, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Frost
, and took command of 2 Platoon, A Company.
was part of Operation Market Garden
, an attempt to secure a string of bridges through the Netherlands
. At Arnhem
the British 1st Airborne Division
and Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
were tasked with securing bridges across the Lower Rhine
, the final objectives of the operation. However, the airborne forces that dropped on 17 September were not aware that the 9th SS
and 10th SS Panzer divisions
were also near Arnhem for rest and refit. Their presence added a substantial number of Panzergrenadiers, tanks and self-propelled gun
s to the German defences and the Allies suffered heavily in the ensuing battle. Only a small force managed to hold one end of the Arnhem road bridge before being overrun on 21 September. The rest of the division became trapped in a small pocket west of the bridge and had to be evacuated on 25 September
. The Allies failed to cross the Rhine, which remained under German control until Allied offensives in March 1945.
, Major General
Roy Urquhart
, originally planned for the 2nd Battalion to lead the 1st Parachute Brigade into Arnhem to secure the road, rail and pontoon bridges over the Lower Rhine
. Frost chose Major Digby Tatham-Warter's A Company to lead the battalion's march from the drop zone
s to the bridges, knowing him to be "a thruster if ever there was". A company was in action almost at once, ambushing a small German recce group near the drop zone. The company moved off through the woods toward the river road, with each platoon taking turns to lead. There was a brief plan to advance the platoons by jeep
once out of the woods, but German forces were encountered shortly afterwards and the idea was not followed up. Grayburn had just arrived at a road junction and headed north when the men behind him came under enemy fire. After laying a smokescreen he led a charge that cleared the enemy positions. Tatham-Warter lacked confidence in the Airborne radio equipment and had trained his platoons to use bugle call
s; it was with the charge
that Grayburn signalled that the advance could be resumed.
A Company was not significantly delayed by the German patrols it encountered later, although the presence of cheering Dutch crowds delayed the whole battalion as it passed through Oosterbeek
. As they approached the railway bridge, C Company detached to capture it, but German engineers blew the bridge just as the British were starting to cross it. A Company now encountered enemy armoured cars, but successfully skirted them by manoeuvering through the back gardens of the houses on either side of the road At 8pm, as darkness fell, Grayburn's platoon led A Company into Arnhem centre and under the main ramp of Arnhem road bridge. Tatham-Warter deployed his platoons around the ramp; 2 Platoon covered both sides of the northernmost extreme of the ramp where it fed into the town centre.
Grayburn did not fire on the occasional German traffic still using the bridge, preferring not to advertise the Allied presence until the rest of the battalion had arrived. Upon his arrival, Frost began securing more buildings around the ramp, and a small section
attack was made on the bridge. The German defenders quickly repulsed this however and Tatham-Warter organised a stronger attack, to be led by Grayburn.
As soon as it was sufficiently dark, Grayburn led his platoon along the ramp to the bridge, their faces blackened and their boots muffled with strips of torn up curtain
s. The platoon moved forward on either side of the girders along the sides of the road, but was quickly spotted by enemy forces on the bridge. Grayburn was shot in the shoulder but continued to press his men on, until the withering enemy fire became too intense and he was forced to pull them back. He was the last person to descend from the ramp into cover.
Over the next few days, every man of the 700 or so who had made it to the bridge and whether a combat trooper or not, was engaged in the defence of the British perimeter. A Company was sited in the buildings on either side of the ramp nearest the river, and on Monday 18 2 Platoon occupied a house on the east side. This sector came under increasing attack from tanks and infantry of the 10th SS Panzer Division, and the building was later burnt down.
The rest of the division made several efforts to reinforce Frost's men, but were unable to break through the German forces that surrounded the bridge. The exact disposition of the British troops subsequently became more confused as the battle developed into house to house fighting. Tatham-Warter took command of 2nd Battalion on Tuesday 19, and Grayburn temporarily took command of A Company after Tatham-Warter's designated replacement was wounded. Grayburn led several fighting patrols that forced the Germans to commit more armour but as Wednesday 20 dawned, the British position was becoming untenable. As the Germans squeezed the perimeter they laid explosives on a section of the ramp crossing a road next to the riverbank, lest XXX Corps should break through and capture the bridge from the south. Grayburn led another patrol that forced the enemy away from the arch while Royal Engineers
removed the fuze
s. Grayburn was wounded again but quickly returned after being treated, now with his head bandaged and arm in a sling. German infantry later returned to relay the charges and a second patrol went out to remove them. A German tank had come forward to cover the arch, but in order to direct his men to better positions Grayburn stood up in full view of it. The tank's machine gun killed him instantly.
Frost's perimeter gradually shrank as men and ammunition ran low, and Frost himself was wounded on 20 September. A brief ceasefire was held later that day to allow the evacuation of wounded men in danger of becoming trapped and being burned alive in the cellars of wrecked buildings. Despite the best efforts of the remaining men to hold out overnight, they were finally overrun in the early hours of the 21 September.
Major Tatham-Warter was able to escape German captivity and later led nearly 140 men to safety in Operation Pegasus
. Upon his return to England he wrote a report on the action at the bridge, which led to Grayburn's posthumous promotion to captain
and the award of the Victoria Cross
.
The full citation for Grayburn's Victoria Cross appeared in a supplement to the London Gazette
on 23 January 1945, reading:
. Although most graves in the cemetery are organised by unit, Grayburn's is separate from the other parachute formations. His VC is in the care of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum
and there are plaques in his memory at Chalfont St Giles
parish church, and at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation war memorial in Hong Kong
, where Grayburn's uncle worked before the war. In the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far, Christopher Good
played a composite character
of Grayburn and Tatham-Warter.Like Grayburn, "Major Carlisle" leads the first attack on the bridge, is wounded in the shoulder and later dies. Like Tatham-Warter he is a major and carries an umbrella.
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
(30 January 1918 – 20 September 1944) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
recipient of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces.
Born in 1918, Grayburn was educated in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
and joined the Army Cadet Force
Army Cadet Force
The Army Cadet Force is a British youth organisation that offers progressive training in a multitude of the subjects from military training to adventurous training and first aid, at the same time as promoting achievement, discipline, and good citizenship, to boys and girls aged 12 to 18 and 9...
before the outbreak of the Second World War. He was initially commissioned into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army.The regiment was formed as a consequence of Childers reforms, a continuation of the Cardwell reforms, by the amalgamation of the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 52nd Regiment of Foot , forming the 1st...
and later joined the Parachute Regiment. At the age of 26 he went into action in the Battle of Arnhem
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a famous Second World War military engagement fought in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Wolfheze, Driel and the surrounding countryside from 17–26 September 1944....
where he was part of the small force that was able to reach Arnhem road bridge. Between 17–20 September he led his platoon, and later the remnants of a battalion, in the defence of the small British perimeter around the bridge, but was killed after standing up in full view of a German tank in order to direct his men to new positions.
Grayburn is buried in the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery
Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery
The Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, more commonly known as the Airborne Cemetery, is a military cemetery in Oosterbeek, Arnhem, the Netherlands. It was established in 1945 and is home to 1759 graves from the Second World War...
, and his Victoria Cross is displayed at the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum
Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum
The Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum is now located at Imperial War Museum Duxford. Prior to 2008 it was based at Browning Barracks in the Aldershot Military Town area near Aldershot in Hampshire...
in England.
Early life
John Grayburn was born on 30 January 1918 on Manora Island, IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the son of Lionel and Gertrude Grayburn. The family returned to England whilst he was young, and he was educated at Sherborne School
Sherborne School
Sherborne School is a British independent school for boys, located in the town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset, England. It is one of the original member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
.
He played rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
for the Chiltern Rugby Club
Amersham and Chiltern Rugby Football Club
Amersham and Chiltern R.F.C. is an English rugby union team located in the western outskirts of Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England. The club colours are burgundy and white...
between 1927 and 1939 and was a skilled boxer.
Grayburn joined the Army Cadet Force
Army Cadet Force
The Army Cadet Force is a British youth organisation that offers progressive training in a multitude of the subjects from military training to adventurous training and first aid, at the same time as promoting achievement, discipline, and good citizenship, to boys and girls aged 12 to 18 and 9...
and was posted to the 1st (London) Cadet Force, The Queen's Royal Regiment. In September 1940 he was given an emergency commission to second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
and was posted to the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army.The regiment was formed as a consequence of Childers reforms, a continuation of the Cardwell reforms, by the amalgamation of the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 52nd Regiment of Foot , forming the 1st...
.
Second World War
Grayburn was promoted to war substantive lieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in 1942 and married Marcelle Chambers, with whom he had a son, in the same year. However, the Ox and Bucks remained on the home front
Home front
Home front is the informal term commonly used to describe the civilian populace of the nation at war as an active support system of their military....
and Grayburn became bored with the inactivity. Instead he applied to the Parachute Regiment and in June 1943 he was transferred to the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion
7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion
The 7th Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment, formed by the British Army during the Second World War. The battalion was raised by the conversion of the 10th Somerset Light Infantry to parachute duties...
. The following year he was transferred to the regiment's 2nd Battalion
2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
The Second Battalion, The Parachute Regiment is a battalion-sized formation of the British Army's Parachute Regiment and subordinate unit within 16th Air Assault Brigade whose Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O'Sullivan....
, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Frost
John Dutton Frost
Major General John Dutton Frost CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DL was a British airborne officer best known for being the leader of the small group of airborne forces that actually got to Arnhem bridge during the Battle of Arnhem...
, and took command of 2 Platoon, A Company.
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of ArnhemBattle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a famous Second World War military engagement fought in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Wolfheze, Driel and the surrounding countryside from 17–26 September 1944....
was part of Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
, an attempt to secure a string of bridges through the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. At Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
the British 1st Airborne Division
British 1st Airborne Division
The 1st Airborne Division was a division of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The division was formed in 1941, after British Prime Minister Winston Churchill demanded an airborne force...
and Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
The 1st Independent Parachute Brigade was a parachute brigade under command of Maj.Gen. Stanisław Sosabowski, created in Scotland in September 1941, with the exclusive mission to drop into occupied Poland in order to help liberate the country. The British government, however, pressured the Polish...
were tasked with securing bridges across the Lower Rhine
Lower Rhine
The Lower Rhine flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hoek van Holland, Netherlands.Almost immediately after entering the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into many branches. The main branch is called the Waal which flows from Nijmegen to meet the river Meuse; after which it is called Merwede...
, the final objectives of the operation. However, the airborne forces that dropped on 17 September were not aware that the 9th SS
9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen
The 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen", also known as SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 9, SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 9 Hohenstaufen or 9. SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen, was a German Waffen-SS Armoured division which saw action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II. The...
and 10th SS Panzer divisions
10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg
The 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg or 10.SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg was a German Waffen SS panzer division. The division was formed at the beginning of 1943 as a reserve for the expected Allied invasion of France. However, their first campaign was in the Ukraine in April 1944...
were also near Arnhem for rest and refit. Their presence added a substantial number of Panzergrenadiers, tanks and self-propelled gun
Self-propelled gun
A self-propelled gun is form of self-propelled artillery, and in modern use is usually used to refer to artillery pieces such as howitzers....
s to the German defences and the Allies suffered heavily in the ensuing battle. Only a small force managed to hold one end of the Arnhem road bridge before being overrun on 21 September. The rest of the division became trapped in a small pocket west of the bridge and had to be evacuated on 25 September
Operation Berlin (Arnhem rescue)
Operation Berlin was a night-time evacuation of paratroopers of the British 1st Airborne Division trapped in German occupied territory north of the Lower Rhine in the Netherlands. The aim of the operation was to safely withdraw the remnants of the division who were surrounded on three sides by...
. The Allies failed to cross the Rhine, which remained under German control until Allied offensives in March 1945.
Advance to the bridge
1st Airborne Division's commanding officerCommanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
, Major General
Major-General (United Kingdom)
Major general is a senior rank in the British Army. Since 1996 the highest position within the Royal Marines is the Commandant General Royal Marines who holds the rank of major general...
Roy Urquhart
Roy Urquhart
Major General Robert "Roy" Elliott Urquhart, CB, DSO was a British military officer. He became prominent for his role commanding the British 1st Airborne Division during Operation Market Garden.-Early career:...
, originally planned for the 2nd Battalion to lead the 1st Parachute Brigade into Arnhem to secure the road, rail and pontoon bridges over the Lower Rhine
Lower Rhine
The Lower Rhine flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hoek van Holland, Netherlands.Almost immediately after entering the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into many branches. The main branch is called the Waal which flows from Nijmegen to meet the river Meuse; after which it is called Merwede...
. Frost chose Major Digby Tatham-Warter's A Company to lead the battalion's march from the drop zone
Drop zone
A drop zone is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes...
s to the bridges, knowing him to be "a thruster if ever there was". A company was in action almost at once, ambushing a small German recce group near the drop zone. The company moved off through the woods toward the river road, with each platoon taking turns to lead. There was a brief plan to advance the platoons by jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
once out of the woods, but German forces were encountered shortly afterwards and the idea was not followed up. Grayburn had just arrived at a road junction and headed north when the men behind him came under enemy fire. After laying a smokescreen he led a charge that cleared the enemy positions. Tatham-Warter lacked confidence in the Airborne radio equipment and had trained his platoons to use bugle call
Bugle call
A bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugles, drums, and other loud musical instruments were used for clear communication in the noise and confusion of a...
s; it was with the charge
Charge (bugle call)
Charge is a bugle call which signals to execute a charge, or to gallop forward into harm's way with deadly intent. A simple unmistakable call, it was even recognizable by experienced horses.-External links:*...
that Grayburn signalled that the advance could be resumed.
A Company was not significantly delayed by the German patrols it encountered later, although the presence of cheering Dutch crowds delayed the whole battalion as it passed through Oosterbeek
Oosterbeek
Oosterbeek is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Renkum, about 5 km west of Arnhem.The oldest part of the village of Oosterbeek is the Benedendorp , on the northern bank of the river Rhine...
. As they approached the railway bridge, C Company detached to capture it, but German engineers blew the bridge just as the British were starting to cross it. A Company now encountered enemy armoured cars, but successfully skirted them by manoeuvering through the back gardens of the houses on either side of the road At 8pm, as darkness fell, Grayburn's platoon led A Company into Arnhem centre and under the main ramp of Arnhem road bridge. Tatham-Warter deployed his platoons around the ramp; 2 Platoon covered both sides of the northernmost extreme of the ramp where it fed into the town centre.
Defence of the bridge
Section (military unit)
A section is a small military unit in some armies. In many armies, it is a squad of seven to twelve soldiers. However in France and armies based on the French model, it is the sub-division of a company .-Australian Army:...
attack was made on the bridge. The German defenders quickly repulsed this however and Tatham-Warter organised a stronger attack, to be led by Grayburn.
As soon as it was sufficiently dark, Grayburn led his platoon along the ramp to the bridge, their faces blackened and their boots muffled with strips of torn up curtain
Curtain
A curtain is a piece of cloth intended to block or obscure light, or drafts, or water in the case of a shower curtain. Curtains hung over a doorway are known as portières...
s. The platoon moved forward on either side of the girders along the sides of the road, but was quickly spotted by enemy forces on the bridge. Grayburn was shot in the shoulder but continued to press his men on, until the withering enemy fire became too intense and he was forced to pull them back. He was the last person to descend from the ramp into cover.
Over the next few days, every man of the 700 or so who had made it to the bridge and whether a combat trooper or not, was engaged in the defence of the British perimeter. A Company was sited in the buildings on either side of the ramp nearest the river, and on Monday 18 2 Platoon occupied a house on the east side. This sector came under increasing attack from tanks and infantry of the 10th SS Panzer Division, and the building was later burnt down.
The rest of the division made several efforts to reinforce Frost's men, but were unable to break through the German forces that surrounded the bridge. The exact disposition of the British troops subsequently became more confused as the battle developed into house to house fighting. Tatham-Warter took command of 2nd Battalion on Tuesday 19, and Grayburn temporarily took command of A Company after Tatham-Warter's designated replacement was wounded. Grayburn led several fighting patrols that forced the Germans to commit more armour but as Wednesday 20 dawned, the British position was becoming untenable. As the Germans squeezed the perimeter they laid explosives on a section of the ramp crossing a road next to the riverbank, lest XXX Corps should break through and capture the bridge from the south. Grayburn led another patrol that forced the enemy away from the arch while Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
removed the fuze
Fuze
Fuze Beverage, commercially referred to as just Fuze , is a manufacturer of teas and non-carbonated fruit drinks enriched with vitamins. Currently the brand consists of five vitamin-infused lines: Slenderize, Refresh, Tea, Defensify, and Vitalize...
s. Grayburn was wounded again but quickly returned after being treated, now with his head bandaged and arm in a sling. German infantry later returned to relay the charges and a second patrol went out to remove them. A German tank had come forward to cover the arch, but in order to direct his men to better positions Grayburn stood up in full view of it. The tank's machine gun killed him instantly.
Frost's perimeter gradually shrank as men and ammunition ran low, and Frost himself was wounded on 20 September. A brief ceasefire was held later that day to allow the evacuation of wounded men in danger of becoming trapped and being burned alive in the cellars of wrecked buildings. Despite the best efforts of the remaining men to hold out overnight, they were finally overrun in the early hours of the 21 September.
Victoria Cross
Operation Pegasus
Operation Pegasus was a military operation carried out on the Lower Rhine near the village of Renkum, close to Arnhem in the Netherlands. Overnight on the 22–23 October 1944, the Allies successfully evacuated a large group of men trapped in German occupied territory who had been in hiding since...
. Upon his return to England he wrote a report on the action at the bridge, which led to Grayburn's posthumous promotion to captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
and the award of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
.
The full citation for Grayburn's Victoria Cross appeared in a supplement to the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
on 23 January 1945, reading:
Legacy
After his death, Grayburn's body fell into the Lower Rhine. It was recovered in 1948 and added to the Arnhem Oosterbeek War CemeteryArnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery
The Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, more commonly known as the Airborne Cemetery, is a military cemetery in Oosterbeek, Arnhem, the Netherlands. It was established in 1945 and is home to 1759 graves from the Second World War...
. Although most graves in the cemetery are organised by unit, Grayburn's is separate from the other parachute formations. His VC is in the care of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum
Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum
The Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum is now located at Imperial War Museum Duxford. Prior to 2008 it was based at Browning Barracks in the Aldershot Military Town area near Aldershot in Hampshire...
and there are plaques in his memory at Chalfont St Giles
Chalfont St Giles
Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish within Chiltern district in south east Buckinghamshire, England, on the edge of the Chilterns, 25 miles from London, and near Seer Green, Jordans, Chalfont St Peter, Little Chalfont and Amersham....
parish church, and at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation war memorial in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, where Grayburn's uncle worked before the war. In the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far, Christopher Good
Christopher Good
Christopher Good is a British actor best known for his work on television.Good has made many one-off or short-lived appearances in drama and comedy programmes, with Murder Most Horrid, Rumpole Of The Bailey, Danger UXB, The Choir and Pie In The Sky being among them...
played a composite character
Composite character
A composite character is a character composed of two or more individuals, appearing in a fictional or non-fictional work. Two fictional characters are often combined into one upon adaptation of a work from one medium to another, as in the film adaptation of a novel...
of Grayburn and Tatham-Warter.Like Grayburn, "Major Carlisle" leads the first attack on the bridge, is wounded in the shoulder and later dies. Like Tatham-Warter he is a major and carries an umbrella.
See also
Four other men were awarded the Victoria Cross at Arnhem:- Major Robert Henry CainRobert Henry CainMajor Robert Henry Cain VC was a Manx recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire RegimentSouth Staffordshire RegimentThe South Staffordshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 38th Regiment of Foot and the 80th Regiment of Foot. In 1959 the regiment was amlagamated with the North Staffordshire Regiment to form the Staffordshire Regiment...
. - Lance-Sergeant John Daniel Baskeyfield, 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire RegimentSouth Staffordshire RegimentThe South Staffordshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 38th Regiment of Foot and the 80th Regiment of Foot. In 1959 the regiment was amlagamated with the North Staffordshire Regiment to form the Staffordshire Regiment...
. - Flight LieutenantFlight LieutenantFlight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
David Samuel Anthony LordDavid LordDavid Samuel Anthony Lord VC, DFC was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
271 SquadronNo. 271 Squadron RAFNo. 271 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was operational for two periods; a few brief months between 27 September 1918 and 9 December 1918 operating flying boats to protect shipping from German U-boats, and between 28 March 1940 and 1 December 1946 No. 271 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was...
, Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. - CaptainCaptain (British Army and Royal Marines)Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
Lionel Ernest QueripelLionel Ernest QueripelLionel Ernest Queripel VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, 10th Battalion Parachute Regiment.
External links
- The Arnhem Roll of Honour Database: John H. Grayburn