Roland James West, the son of Jock and Margaret West, of India, enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment and then volunteered for airborne forces.

Corporal West successfully completed his parachute training, probably in India as a member of 156 Battalion, the Parachute Regiment and took part in Operation Market Garden (Arnhem).

Cpl ‘Nocker’ West had a lucky escape when a bullet passed through the sole of his boot, removing the toecap but causing no physical injury. Nocker was one of the very few black soldiers to serve with the 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem. He was killed in action on 20 September 1944, aged 22, and is commemorated on the Groesbeek Memorial to the missing.

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