Sergeant. Austin 'Robbo' Roberts of the 1st Airborne Division Provost Company, CMP.

Austin Roberts was born on the 12 February 1914, in Pontybodkin, Near Mold, Flintshire.

He enlisted into The Pioneer Corps on the 11th July 1940, and served with 905 Company from the 30 July 1940, and then 149 Company from the 9 August 1940. On the 16 October 1940 he transferred to The King’s Own Royal Regiment, and was posted to the Infantry Training Centre, Lancaster. He then transferred to the Corps of Military Police on the 19 January 1941, and was posted to their 2nd Depot.

Austin was appointed as an unpaid Lance Corporal on the 17 March 1941, and then on the 22 March he was posted to the 31st Independent Infantry Brigade. The following day his rank of Lance Corporal was confirmed.

In December 1941 the Brigade was redesignated as the 1st Airlanding Brigade Group, and he therefore became a member of the 1st Airlanding Brigade Group Provost Section. However on the 6 June 1942 the Section was to be expanded to a Company and be under command of the Airborne Division Headquarters. The Company was also to have parachutists, so L/Cpl. Roberts volunteered, and he, along with 16 others, attended Parachute Course 31 at RAF Ringway.

The 31st Course for Officers and men of the Airborne Division assembled at Hardwick Hall, the Depot & School of Airborne Forces, where it commenced preparatory training under RAF Instructors on Monday, 28 September. It transferred to Ringway on Thursday, 8 October and concluded on Sunday, 18 October. This was the first Course for which the RAF were responsible for the preparatory ground training at Hardwick and the full period was 3 weeks. All the trainees took the long course of 7 descents – 2 balloon, and 5 from a Whitley aircraft.

He was then promoted to paid acting Corporal on the 29 October 1942.

Cpl. Roberts, along with the rest of the Provost Company, sailed for North Africa, landing there on the 13 April 1943. They were part of the Divisional Advance Party, and were to join up with the 1st Parachute Brigade, which had fought in the Tunisian campaign. By July 1943 they had moved up to Sousse in Tunisia, where the 1st Airborne Division was concentrated for the airborne operations that would take place in Sicily.

However, only 22 men of the Provost Company were eventually involved with the airborne operations in Sicily, in July 1943, and Austin was not one of them. It was in the same month that he was promoted to Sergeant.

He then took part in Operation ‘Slapstick’, which was the combined naval and 1st Airborne Division action at the Italian port of Taranto in September 1943.

In December 1943 he returned, with the Provost Company, to the United Kingdom, arriving at Liverpool on 10 December. The Company was then taken to billets at the village of Leadenham in Lincolnshire, before departing on leave until the 31 December. Upon the return the Company moved into Stubton Hall and would remain there until October 1944. However, at some stage, No 2 Section was billeted in the stables at Stapleford Park House, near Melton Mowbray, so as to be nearer to the 4th Parachute Brigade units.

By the Summer of 1944 Sgt. Austin Roberts was the Section Sergeant for No 2 Section, which was attached to the 4th Parachute Brigade. The Section Commander was Lieut. FJR Locke.

For Operation ‘Market-Garden’ the Section was to be split into two Parties. The Advance Party consisting of Lieut. Locke and four other men would be on the 1st Lift, on Sunday, 17 September 1944, flying to DZ ‘X’ from Barkston Heath.

Sgt. Roberts would command the remaining eleven men, and they would fly on the 2nd Lift, on Monday, 18 September 1944, to DZ ‘Y’, at Ginkel Heath from Spanhoe aerodrome.

Although the drop onto Ginkel Heath was carried out under enemy fire, casualties to the Section were light, with only one man wounded, and they were able to proceed to the Brigade Headquarters RV Point. Here they were immediately tasked with taking control of the German prisoners that had been taken.

The main part of the Section then moved with Brigade HQ towards Wolfheze, and stopped then stopped there overnight. On Tuesday, 19 September, the Section moved along the track just north of the railway line, beyond Wolfheze, heading towards the Dreyenseweg. However, the enemy strength was far greater than expected and the Brigade was driven back towards Wolfheze and south, over the railway line and into the woods.

L/Cpl. Herbert ‘Junior’ Stubbs was the No 1 on the Section’s Bren Gun, and along with his No 2, L/Cpl. Frederick Cardinelli, he was tasked with taking up a covering position on the railway embankment: ‘We took up position in the woods and along the embankment for a short distance and settled down for the night. It was here I learned that Sgt Austin Roberts had two or three light shrapnel wounds, but he didn’t seem to worry much about them. The night was one of the worst I have spent, you could feel Jerry closing in on you but couldn’t see him, now and again firing broke out and there wasn’t much sleeping done that night.’

There are various accounts of the actions of Sgt. Austin Roberts on Wednesday, 20 September. The following are those of L/Cpl. Stubbs: ‘Someone saw a troop carrier moving out of the wood further down the road. Robbo (our Sgt) collared my Bren and opened fire, I lay on the road changing his empty magazines. The lorry didn’t get far and Robbo felt better for letting off steam and I got my Bren back’, and then later on in this action in the woods: ‘The tanks were firing on the jeeps one was hit and on fire Sgt Roberts drove it away from the others as it was in flames.’

L/Cpl. John Raine: ‘Not long before we were captured, Sgt Roberts called for a volunteer to go out as far as we could with a Bren gun . He would be spotted, so I went with him. He was a very brave man because by this time one of his arms was in tatters and I could see all his bones . The next thing I found myself in the front line kneeling behind a fallen tree. There were two of us, shoulder to shoulder, and we both had Bren guns. Unfortunately he was hit right between his eyes.’

In the early 1990’s Cpl. John ‘Jock’ Mills was interviewed by John Hamblett, who had also served in the 1st Airborne Division Provost Company for a book to be entitled ‘The Pegasus Patrol’, this what he recorded: ‘Regarding the death of Austin Roberts. ‘Jock’ is reluctant to tell the details, because he feels it reflects badly on the memory of the man. I disagree, it was War and utter confusion. When ‘Jock’ returned from North Africa, he was part of a ‘circus’ taking captured enemy tanks to Army bases the length of the country to give the troops an experience of what they looked like, so he was very familiar with the sight and sound of them.

‘He and Austin Roberts were in the woods (I think that would be at Oosterbeek) there was a fierce fight taking place when they heard the sound of tank engines, Austin thought it was the relieving column and started to move toward the sound, Jock recognised the sound as that of the enemy tanks and warned Austin to take cover, but as he did so a tank burst through the hedge, spraying the area with machine gun fire, Austin was hit several times and was killed instantly. The tank drove into the clearing, with the gunner trying to hit Jock, but he was so close to the tank that the gun could not depress enough, Jock jumped into a shell-hole, the tank turned away and Jock ran deeper into the woods.’

This is what was written on page 100 of ‘The Pegasus Patrol’: ‘Sgt. Austin Roberts and a number of The Section NCO remained as close as possible to Brigade HQ throughout the day. All Security Duties forgotten now and they were fighting for survival as out and out infantry soldiers. Sgt. Roberts had received a couple of shrapnel wounds already that day but continued to be an constant inspiration to the young NCOs around him’ ...

 ‘...On the 19th September (please note this is probably a typo as the date was obviously the 20th), 'Robbo' had collected a Bren because he was seen that day at Brigade HQ collecting ammunition. One of the shrapnel wounds he received was probably severe as L/Cpl ‘Claude’ Raine speaks of seeing him with his sleeve in tatters and bleeding profusely. On the 19th Cpl. Jock Mills was with ‘Robbo’ in the woods beside the Valkenburglaan, just north of the Koude Herburg on Utrechseweg. He remembers:

‘There was fierce fighting taking place when we heard the sound of tank engines. Sgt. Roberts though that they were our tanks coming to relive us. I knew that they were enemy tanks and I tried to warn ‘Robbo’ to take cover but, as he began running towards the sound of engines, a German tank burst through the undergrowth and sprayed the area with machine gun fire. ‘Robbo’ was hit several times and died instantly. the tank drove into the clearing, still firing, but the gunner couldn’t depress his gun low enough to hit me. I jumped into a shell hole, as the tank turned away, I ran deeper into the wood.’

He was buried in a mass grave at MR. 684785, which is near the Van Tienhovenlaan, which is west of Sportlaan. On the 13 August 1945 he was reburied in the Arnhem/Oosterbeek War Cemetery plot 16, row C, grave 17.

MILITARY HISTORY SHEET.

Country.                              From.                    To.                          Years and Days.

Home.                                   11/07/40.             12/04/43.             2 years, 276 days.

North Africa.                          13/04/43.             09/12/43.             241 days.

Home.                                   10/12/43.             17/09/44.             282 days.

Western Europe.                    18/09/44.             22/09/44.              5 days.

                                                                                TOTAL:  4 years, 74 days.

MEDALS AWARDED.

1939/45 Star.

Africa Star ([1st]Army Clasp).

Italy Star.

France & Germany Star.

Defence Medal.

War Medal 1939-45.

Researched and written by Robert Hilton, service records kindly supplied by Jos Ruigrok.